


Little things make life great

by Marilu



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dubious Consent, Dwori - Freeform, First Time, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Minor Character Death, Sex, Slow Build, Thilbo, bagginshield, mafia!au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-09
Updated: 2014-01-02
Packaged: 2017-12-18 05:46:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 45
Words: 73,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/876308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marilu/pseuds/Marilu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thorin, the boss of a small mafia-like organization, has a dangerous plan. But he needs Gandalf's help. When Gandalf meets Bilbo Baggins, a man who hasn't had any adventures in his life, Gandalf decides to kill two birds with one stone.</p><p>Will a grocer make a great burglar? Can a gangster learn what truly are the valuable things in the life? Will Bilbo and Thorin ever find a way to each other's hearts? And if they do, will Bilbo survive from that? And will Dwalin ever confess what he feels for a little computer boy? And why does  two brothers want to share the same room and the same bed? Read and find out!</p><p>The first seven chapters are beta-read by Yhoretta, and few chapters after that are beta-read by WinterKisses..!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Invisible spy-burglar

A proud man as Thorin Durin was, he wouldn’t often ask help for his business from outsiders. Well, Gandalf wasn’t actually an outsider; he just didn’t happen to live in that big house like all the other friends of Durin’s family. Gandalf had known Thorin since the latter had been a little boy. He had been Thorin’s late-grandfather’s friend, had seen how his now also late-father grew up and now he was currently watching over and occasionally helping Thorin with his business, even though Thorin was over his thirties now.

Gandalf hadn’t visited Durin’s household lately; he only came when Thorin told him to come by, and Thorin would never invite him just for a cup of coffee. Oh no, he always wanted Gandalf to get him some information! You see, the business Thorin was rolling was the kind where you really needed to know who you were playing with, who you could trust and who your enemies were. Gandalf knew almost everybody, and if there was someone he didn’t know, he would at least know someone who did.

So, Gandalf could only guess what kind of information the young man might want this time as he approached the big house of Durin’s. He rang the doorbell and waited. Oh how he would have liked to have his own key to use! As an old man he’d already had enough of waiting, but after once having kept a key from Thorin for his father’s personal belongings drawer Thorin was reluctant to give _any_ keys to the old man.

What seemed like forever to Gandalf, the door finally opened. Balin stood there in welcome and knew to apologize to Gandalf for taking his time. Gandalf’s suspicions awoke; Balin was Thorin’s most trusted friend and relative-he would only send him to meet Gandalf alone if there were something serious going on.

“Thorin, Gandalf is here!” Balin knocked the door of Thorin’s office and opened it for Gandalf.

Thorin sat behind his desk and nodded his greeting to the older man. Gandalf sat down on the large sofa in front so that they were eye-to-eye. He didn’t have to ask what Thorin was after this time, because as soon as Balin closed the door and they were left alone Thorin started to speak.

“I need you to find me someone.”

“Alright, what are their names?”

“I actually hoped that you would tell me that.”

Gandalf raised an eyebrow to Thorin and gestured for him to continue. Thorin sighed, stood up, and started pacing irritably along his large office.

“You know that I have gotten closer to finally defeating my worst enemy...” Thorin started and frowned. “After all these years I have only now been able to locate Smaug’s hideout..! That bastard has been cowering away in his private mansion right behind the mountains! The best way to defeat him and get back what belongs to me is a surprise attack, but it won’t be easy.”

“Of course it won’t, yet it seems to me like you already have some sort of plan.”

“Yeah, almost… But I need more information about him. I need to find his ultimate weakness, need to know who his allies are, whose information I could trust and-“

“To put it short, you need to know every single detail about him so you could destroy him once and for all,” Gandalf interrupted with a smile.

“Yes.” Thorin’s frown grew deeper as he glanced the old man on the couch.

“ I hope you don’t expect me to find you someone who _knows_ all these things about Smaug. He knows the underworld better than anyone, much better than you, your men and me together! He wouldn’t be so stupid that he would confide in one person! I would need to find you hundreds of criminals, every single one knowing only a small detail of Smaug’s life, and by asking help of so many Mafioso would not guarantee that they would keep their mouth shut, you couldn’t possibly watch over so many people. And you would be broke if you try to pay them all silent. Smaug would soon hear that you know his whereabouts and it would take years to find him again!”

“Do you think that I’m so stupid?! Of course I know that! But I’m not asking you to find me hundreds of criminals, just one! One of the finest burglars there is; he who would get me all the needed information and help me to rob back what is mine!”

“If you need a burglar, then let Nori do the job! He’s well known of his skills of robbery,” Gandalf suggested, but Thorin shook his head.

“That’s the problem, everybody knows him..! Besides, Nori is known well by many after all the times he’s been caught, and I need someone who knows the underworld like his own pockets but whom the underworld doesn’t know at all! Someone who can move like a shadow and could spy on other Mafiosos for me. I can’t afford to pay hundreds of criminals, but I _can_ afford one man.”

“Please, you’re asking to do the impossible!” Gandalf stood up and spread his arms. “Where do you think  I’ll  be able to find you a professional burglar who is unknown to the whole underworld?!”

“I thought that nothing was impossible for the ‘wizard’,” Thorin smiled as he referred to the nickname that Gandalf had gained over the years.

Gandalf huffed and thought that he would try to speak some sense to the young mafia boss.

“Thorin, I know that you bear many a grudge against Smaug, that’s understandable! But think about it; is it worth risking all you have done over the years just to fulfill your dangerous need for revenge?! I know that he fooled your grandfather and drove your whole family to the poorhouse, but look what you have done since! You have earned every penny back by working hard! I can’t say whether all of that money has been gained in a legal way, after all you’re working with hard boiled criminals, but you found the way to climb back to the top! If something in your plan goes wrong, Smaug could destroy your family this time once and for all. Is it really worth the risk?”

“It’s not just senseless revenge! He has something that belonged to my grandfather!”

“What do you mea-” Gandalf stopped as he remembered what had been always so important to his late friend.

“You don’t mean the arkenstone, do you?”

Thorin nodded and Gandalf rolled his eyes. This can’t be true! That stupid stone was the reason for his friend’s enormous greed. It would destroyed him!

“Smaug stole it from my grandfather. It meant everything to that man and I must get it back.”

“Thorin...”

“Enough! I have made up my mind, and everyone else under this roof is also willing to do their very best to give that scum what he deserves!”

Gandalf knew that he couldn’t win against Thorin in this matter. The boy was as stubborn as his grandfather. If only he could make Thorin see that what he had now was much more important and valuable than some cold old stone.

“When do you need me to find that invisible spy-burglar for you?” Gandalf rubbed his forehead wearily.

“As soon as possible. Please Gandalf, if everything goes as planned I promise that this is the last thing I will ever ask of you.”

“I can’t promise anything, but I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thank you, old friend. I’m counting on you,” Thorin said as Gandalf made his way out of the office.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My first attempt to post fanfics here. Please tell what do you think so I could know whenever I should contiune this story. If I decide to do so, I try to update this once in a week!


	2. "Bilbo, Bilbo Baggins"

It really was impossible.

 

 Gandalf had gone through almost all his contacts but even _he_ didn’t know anyone so trustworthy and invisible from the world of criminals and Mafiosos. Besides, as a powerful and strong mafia boss Thorin Durin had many enemies; there were more people than Gandalf could count who knew where to get nice sums of money if they were to sell any information of him.

Gandalf gazed up. It was a too beautiful day to worry about the great criminals and their problems. The sun was high and the weather was altogether very pleasant. He stopped in the middle of his walk down the peaceful shopping street and inhaled some of that lovely autumn air.

“You look like you’ve got the world on your shoulders, my friend. Would you like to drink some tea and talk about it?” the sudden voice interrupted Gandalf from his thoughts.

A cheerful looking fellow waved for him from a cosy little bistro next to the walking street. He had caramel colored hair that hung in curls, a casual but neat outfit and a generous smile on his lips. Gandalf didn’t remember seeing him before but he reminded Gandalf of someone….

“You don’t happen to be the son of Belladonna Took, do you?” Gandalf gained a surprised look from the young man now next to him.

“Well yes! How did you know that?”

“I was your mother’s friend, Gandalf Grey! Has anyone ever told you that you have her smile?”

“Indeed they have! My name is Bilbo Baggins, please have a seat,” Bilbo stood up and pulled the chair out for the older man.

Drinking refreshing tea with Bilbo was the break what Gandalf truly needed. Chatting about Bilbo’s late parents and peaceful life in the small city brought a genuine smile to his face. It was a nice change to talk with _normal_ people instead of those gangsters he had to bear every now and then.

“I would have never believed it. Belladonna’s son is living a quiet and peaceful life! You have settled down then?” Gandalf assumed, since there was no way that the Belladonna Took’s heir would just sit down drinking tea if he hadn’t already experience all kinds of adventures in his life. Not if there was even a little drop of Took’s blood in him.

“Oh no, I don’t have wife or children if that’s what you mean...Although I _am_ raising my nephew Frodo, but he has always been a very independent child. He lives in a dorm right now and only spends the holidays at my place, so I pretty much live alone. And adventuring really isn’t my thing, I guess that I take after my father more in that.”

 _Oh yeah, Belladonna really_ did _marry that boredom,_ Gandalf thought with a sigh.

Bilbo Baggins wasn’t at all what he would have expected from Belladonna’s son. Belladonna had been so spirited and restless, always up to something. It was a real surprise when she finally settled down, married and had a child. Everybody was sure that one day they would be in a trouble with a boy if he is even a little bit like his mother. And now that Gandalf was talking with this grown up boy, he was sure that he hadn’t had anything exciting happen to him in the course of his life. Bilbo told Gandalf that he was only 32 years old, but he acted like he was over his fifties. Living happily and safely was a thing to be envious about, Gandalf knew, but he couldn’t help feeling himself betrayed when they were talking about his friend’s son.

“It would have been nice though, to have even one big story of adventure to tell everyone else, like my mother had. I was only twenty when I started to take care of Frodo who was, himself, only four at that time. I couldn’t bear the idea of him being forced to move from his hometown to some distant relative he didn’t even know right after he had lost his parents! And well, I had just recently lost and inherited my own parents, so I thought that we could help eachother out a little. Besides, I had no idea what to do with all that money my parents left me, and it seemed wise to spend it on Frodo’s wellbeing.”

“So that’s the reason you have all the time in the world just to sit here drinking tea when you don’t have to worry about working?” Gandalf asked as he sipped his tea.

“Oh no, you see, I grow vegetables and sell them to this bistro for salads and sandwiches. That’s why I get to drink my afternoon tea here in a low price. But since I don’t need to worry about money, I take gardening and growing vegetables more as hobby than a work.” Bilbo smiled.

“Your nephew can take care of himself now and you’re not married to your work. So what’s stopping you from having your adventures now? You’re free and still young after all!”

“I don’t know, I’m happy with my life like it is. Just...” Bilbo oscillated.

“You said that it would have been nice..?” Gandalf smirked, pleased to see that Bilbo was even the tiniest bit interested in having an adventure.

“Well… Yes. Maybe. But that’s enough of me, you haven’t yet tell me about the thing that made your face so troubled when I first saw you.” Changing topic, Bilbo forced Gandalf to remember his nagging troubles with Durin’s family.

“It’s nothing for you to worry about, my lad. I was just thinking of my friend’s grandson who has a little too much going on. I hope that he could be more like you, not caring too much for material things and enjoying more of life’s simple pleasures.”

“And in return it seems to me that you hope that I would be more like him..?” Bilbo leaned back in his chair and threw Gandalf a knowing wink.

“Well yes… Indeed,” Gandalf admitted, a little bit surprised as to how sharp Bilbo actually was. “You two could learn a lot from each other.”

Bilbo smiled, completely unaware of the idea he had just given the older man.

“Well, who knows? Maybe someday I’ll meet that friend of yours and learn how to be adventurous from him.” By saying this, Bilbo was only feeding more to Gandalf’s seemingly crazy idea.

“I’m pretty sure that you will meet him someday, maybe sooner than you might think! But I must go now; I have some business to do. Thank you for a lovely tea and chat mister Baggins!”, Gandalf sipped the last of his tea and stood up.

“You’re welcome my friend! I truly hope that we have time to talk again soon!”

“Oh, we will meet again mister Baggins, we will..” Gandalf smiled and started to make his way back to his flat. Who knows, maybe he now had the chance to kill two birds with one stone.

“We surely will…”

 

 -------------------------------------

 

“Kili! What the hell are you doing?!”

“Practicing my archery, like you told me to do…”

“Archery practice isn’t involved with the dinner table! At least aim better!”

“But that’s why I’m practicing…”

The young boy hadn’t more time to defend himself against his uncle. A pair of strong hands grabbed him from the waist after snatching his bow from him. The young boy was thrown into his brother’s arms.

“You keep an eye on him and make sure that he can’t cause any more trouble,” the tall man murmured, glaring threateningly at the two young boys in front of him.

“Thank you Dwalin!” Thorin exhaled raggedly and tore the arrow out of the table.

“Come on, Thorin! Let the boys have their fun!” Bofur said, clearly amused of the scenario that Kili’s badly aimed arrow had caused.

Thorin threw an unimpressed expression to his friend, but before he had time to say anything Balin lay a firm hand on his shoulder.

“Gandalf is calling. He said that he has good news for you.”

Thorin excused himself from the dinner table and snatched the phone from Balin’s hand. When he was alone he greeted Gandalf, eager to hear what the old man had to say.

“I have found you the burglar you need,” came the voice of Gandalf.

Well that happened sooner than he would have expected. It took only one day for Gandalf to find the man whose existence Thorin himself had doubted! Gandalf really did earn the title of the “wizard”!

“Well, who he is?”

“His name is Bilbo. Bilbo Baggins.”

 


	3. Don't judge a book by its cover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, it's very short chapter this time...

Bilbo was dependent on his routines.

Every morning he would wake up, eat a proper breakfast and do some gardening. He would always go to that lovely little bistro and drink his afternoon tea. After that he  always made sure to call Frodo and ask how the boy’s day had been. His evenings were quietly spent at home with a good book or a  comforting movie. This is a typical day in Bilbo Baggins’ life.

 But there was nothing typical in _this_ day.

After his hearty breakfast, he had felt a little peculiar; as though his gut were telling him that today would be a big day, like Frodo’s birthday or something. But when he looked at the calendar he didn’t notice any note of anything special; it would be just another regular Thursday in his life.

The odd feeling wouldn’t go away. It was still there as he sat down on his regular chair to drink his afternoon tea in the bistro. He liked much more to sit on those few chairs that were placed outside of the cafeteria; as everything tasted better in the fresh air. But even though the air was as nice as always, Bilbo felt that something was wrong. Maybe something had happened to Frodo? Oh no, why did he had the bad habit of forgetting his telephone at home?! He should just drink his tea, rush back home and call Frodo!

 But Bilbo never had the chance to finish his tea.

The thoughts of his nephew were distracted as a black car pulled up next to him. Two scary looking guys stepped out and approached Bilbo. He froze, unable to move even a finger when the men were already in front of him.

“You’re Bilbo Baggins, right?”one said. He was very, very tall and built strong. He had tattoos on his bald head, scruffy whiskers and a long beard which had been tied up in a ponytail.

Bilbo didn’t know how to lie. He was terrified and nodded, earning a suspicious look from the other man.

“Are you sure it’s him? I mean, he fits very well to the description, but… I still didn’t expect him to be such a small and fragile looking fella…”

The man who was speaking now wasn’t as tall as the other one, but he felt just as frightening to Bilbo. He had ginger colored hair that hung long and a messy beard, and was intimidatingly muscular like the other one.

“Are you a friend of Gandalf Grey?” the tattooed man asked.

Bilbo relaxed a little bit when he heard Gandalf’s name. If these guys were friends of that old nice man he had met yesterday, they couldn’t be too bad, right?

 He was so very, very wrong.

 As soon as he nodded “yes”, the men grabbed him under the arms and practically carried him into the car. Bilbo was so shocked that he didn’t even try to scream for a help, and before he knew it, he was sitting in a back seat and the car started to drive away.

“Wow, he’s smaller than I thought! I wonder if Gandalf played a trick on us!”

Bilbo jumped when he heard a sudden voice next to him.

“Kili! Don’t judge a book by its cover!”

Two boys sat next to Bilbo, probably around their twenties. One was blond, and like the two guys who took Bilbo into the car he also had a beard, only his was a little shorter and neater. His hair was long and ponytailed, much like the other guy’s next to him. That boy, apparently Kili, had then nothing more common with the blond one. His hair was dark brown and unlike the others he didn’t had a beard, only dark stubble.

“Fili, Kili! He’s your uncle’s guest, treat him with respect!” the tattooed man who was driving the car shouted and glanced at Bilbo from the mirror.

“I’m Dwalin, at your service.”

“And I’m Gloin, at your service.” The ginger haired man nodded from the front seat.

“Fili and Kili, at your service.” Both boys next to Bilbo nodded to him.

“Bilbo… Bilbo Baggins..” Bilbo shuddered. He still hasn’t forgotten his manners, no matter how scared he was. 

“I’m sorry that we needed to snatch you like that. But you can never be too careful, right?” Dwalin apologized.

 _Indeed you can’t,_ Bilbo thought as he tried to gather up some courage to ask where they were taking him. When he finally did, Gloin raised an eyebrow to him.

“What, didn’t Gandalf tell you about us and the plan?”

Bilbo shook his head, as far as he could remember the old man hadn’t said anything about these four suspicious men.

“Nah, Gandalf is a bit senile! He must have forgotten to tell you that we were gonna hire you!” Fili laughed and reached over his brother to pat Bilbo on the shoulder.

“We-well… He did mention to me that his friend had a problem or something…”

Bilbo’s voice grew thinner and thinner as he spoke. But to his surprise his answer gained a little smile from Dwalin.

“So he did remember to tell you something then! Don’t worry, mister Durin will explain everything when we arrive.”

Bilbo gulped. He had heard the name of Durin somewhere. The first things that came to his mind were the news on the paper and TV of the small but powerful mafia-like organization which tended to play some sort of part in the big and small quarrels which usually involved the police and the country’s greatest criminals. But there was no way that Bilbo was now being taken to see the head of this questionable organization, right?

 

Right..?

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the views, bookmarks, kudos and comments! I hope that more people will also come and read this story in future!


	4. Miracle maker

Bilbo’s mouth felt as dry as a desert when the car finally stopped. He was quickly led into the big house by his four kidnappers. Bilbo was far too scared to struggle or even attempt to escape; besides, the men were too fast in their movements and too familiar in their environment that Bilbo wouldn’t even find time to flee!

“Make yourself at home!”Kili smiled and Bilbo could only stare forward.

The house was huge. So huge that it wasn’t a house anymore, more like a mansion! A really big mansion! And they were still at the vestibule!

Well, when Bilbo scrutinised the tall men around him he thought that maybe large people needed to have large amounts of space, but seeing this big house didn’t help him in his thoughts that maybe he hadn’t mistaken the name of Durin, the mafia organization to someone else.

“Oh, he’s here already!” A white haired and bearded older man stepped behind the corner and shook Bilbo’s hand. “I’m Balin, brother of Dwalin, at your service. Thorin has some business to attend, but he will meet you soon mister Baggins.”

Apparently this Thorin was the same as “mister Durin.” Bilbo wasn’t too sure if he wanted to meet him…

“Well well…! Gandalf told us that you were to be short, but you seem to be even smaller than our Ori!”

Before Bilbo had realized the whole vestibule was filled with tall, bearded men. The one who spoke first had messy, funny looking hair, like there would be three triangles on his head! He later introduced himself as Nori, and after him Bilbo got a firm handshake from his older brother Dori who had a short white beard and whiskers.

Gloin’s brother, Oin, was also there to greet the very confused Bilbo. Unlike his brother’s, his beard and hair were grey instead of ginger, but otherwise they were as much a mess like the other men.

The large group took Bilbo into the dining room to wait for Thorin and chat a little bit. Bilbo wasn’t in the slightest mood for a chatting; all he wanted was to turn and run away! But he didn’t even know where he was… Hell, he wasn’t even sure that he was _the_ Bilbo Baggins himself, anymore! He didn’t remember ever hanging out with tall, strong and scary-looking men who almost all had a long and ponytailed beard and hair!

And in the kitchen there were even more of the guys fitting that specific description! One with a funny looking hat jumped in front of him and smiled generously to Bilbo.

“Hullo lad! So you’re the miracle maker then? I’m Bofur, at your service. The big fella behind me is my brother Bombur and the one with the scar is my cousin Bifur!”

“At your service!” Bombur waved. The other guy, Bifur,  just grumbled something that Bilbo thought was meant to be some sort of greeting.

“You will have to excuse him, my friend! Bifur hasn’t been able to talk after he got stabbed on the head!” Bofur explained. The colour drained from Bilbo’s cheeks. So these guys really _were_ living hard, action filled lives...

“Umm… Hello mister Baggins. I’m Ori, at your service.”

Bilbo turned around and was surprised to see young boy, surely not much older than Frodo and not so much taller than Bilbo. Unlike the many other muscular guys in the room-this one, Ori, was very  
skinny and clean shaven. But if Bilbo had leaned in to look at Ori’s chin closer, he could have seen how the poor boy was desperately trying to grow one.

When they had seated Bilbo around the dining table and fired off merry conversations of all kinds and topics, Bilbo understood that he had already met everyone else from this household except their boss, Thorin Durin. So far, Bilbo had learned that the cheery-natured young boys, Fili and Kili, were his nephews, so maybe there was a change that mister Durin would also be joyful and a nice fellow.

Again, he was so wrong.

He wasn’t yet to find it out, though. This Thorin guy seemed to be very busy one; Bilbo would have to wait little bit longer to meet him.

 _Great,_ he thought. Maybe he would figure out the way to escape before having to meet the big boss at all! Maybe he could excuse himself from the table, say that he needed to use bathroom or wanted to breathe some fresh air into his burning lungs. If he was lucky, these guys would let Ori accompany him; that little boy was the only one who Bilbo felt could be pushed aside when as he ran for his life!

But the slightest movement on his chair caused four highly alert pair of eyes to glare at him. Fili, Kili, Bombur, Bofur and Nori were just cheerfully chatting and occasionally patting Bilbo on his shoulder. Dori was trying to feed some salad to his younger brother Ori who was trying to focus on his laptop. Without Bilbo noticing it, Balin had gone somewhere. The remaining others, Dwalin, Gloin, Oin and Bifur were staring at him, looking very serious. They looked like they would be ready to jump on Bilbo if he did any sudden movement. It was as though they thought that it would be a great risk to let Bilbo be without any guard.

Why, Bilbo didn’t know that. He wasn’t threat to anybody! Couldn’t those men see that Bilbo wouldn’t stand a chance in a fight against them! For Bilbo’s luckiness he couldn’t see that all those men were ready to draw their guns and other weapons if he tried something. Otherwise, he would have freaked out more than he already had.

“You’re paler than Ori, and he spends almost all his days inside the house with his computer! Are you feeling sick mister Boggins?”

Kili leaned in to take a closer look at Bilbo, who had turned snow-white from the fear.

“I… Umm.. Yes, I feel little unwell, I guess I need some fresh air or something… And it’s Baggins, thank you….”

“There is a balcony on the third floor. I can accompany you there if you like.” Dwalin stood up and gestured for Bilbo to come with him.

Bilbo would have liked to point out that the front door must have been much closer than the balcony, but he was scared to give away his intentions of escaping.

“I can come with you too, if you like! Some fresh air would do me good, being inside all day, staying within the house and so…” Ori hurried and closed his laptop, eager to get away from his brother and the salad plate.

For the entire walk to the balcony Bilbo noticed that Dwalin kept his eyes glued on him. He pushed Ori in front, telling him to lead the way. There was no way that Bilbo could try to escape when Dwalin was walking next to him; but still, Bilbo had no idea why they wanted to keep such a close watch on him.

 The cool autumn air wasn’t relaxing at all. Bilbo could now understand why they had taken him to the third floor’s balcony; it was too high for Bilbo to jump down and there really wasn’t much of a view. It was impossible to locate where they were, when all he could see was a forest of high trees that stretched grandly to the sky.

“Feeling better, master Baggins?” Ori asked with a smile. Bilbo nodded nervously and hoped that there would be a some way to get Dwalin out of the picture, so he could at least relax a little. But Dwalin was still staring at him, and whenever Ori tried to approach Bilbo Dwalin gently tugged the younger boy behind his back. Like Bilbo was something dangerous and that idea couldn’t fit in either Ori or Bilbo’s head.

 _Please, just leave the balcony for a few seconds, that would be all the time I need...!_ , Bilbo pleaded in his thoughts as he tried to pretend that he was actually enjoying the fresh air he’d asked for.

He closed his eyes and inhaled the sweet mist of autumn. As he was about to open his eyes and exhale something zipped right past his head and hit the wall behind him.

 An arrow.

“What the hell?!” Dwalin shouted and ran to peer over the balcony.

“Mister Baggins..! Are you okay?!” Ori warily checked that the arrow hadn’t scratch Bilbo’s face.

Bilbo stuttered, heavily in shock, but Ori couldn’t hear his reply through Dwalin’s loud and angry voice.

“What were you two doing?!! Weren’t you in the kitchen just minutes ago?! Fili, Kili?!”

“Sorry Dwalin..! We got bored without master Boggins there, and I just thought that I should practice my archery here in backyard, since Thorin forbade me to do so inside of the house,” Kili explained.

“Yeah, it would have been nice to show some of our own fighting skills to mister Baggins!” Fili added, but Dwalin’s anger would not cool down so easily.

“You idiots! That arrow could have hit Ori! Why can’t you be like every other gangster and shoot with a gun?!”

“Actually, mister Dwalin, that arrow was much closer to mister Baggins than me,” Ori desperately tried to explain.

“And I don’t think that a _gun_ would be any less dangerous in that boy’s hands…” Bilbo froze mid-sentence. _Wait, did he just say, ‘gangster’?_ Oh no, his fear was true, these guys really _were_ something dangerous!

When Dwalin had heard more than enough of Kili’s explanations, he threatened to come down and break Kili’s dear bow. He whipped his phone from his leather jacket and called to Gloin.

“Come ‘ere! I need you to keep company to our guest and Ori while I teach a lesson to those two idiotic heirs!” he hung up and told Ori that Gloin would be there in a few seconds as he ran out from the balcony to catch those two troublemakers.

Even Dwalin thought there would be no risk in leaving Ori alone with Bilbo for a so little a time, but Bilbo hadn’t been lying when he thought that he would only need those few seconds to escape.

As soon as Dwalin was out of sight, Bilbo saw his chance. He ran as fast as he could, ignoring Ori’s shouting behind him; he needed vainly to get out, it was now, or maybe never..!

 But getting out of the massive mansion was much easier said than done. There were more than two or three corridors in a one room, and Bilbo couldn’t possibly remember the path they took when he was  
accompanied to the balcony. But he had no time to stop and think; that Gloin guy could be anywhere, as well all the others.

Quickly, Bilbo decided to always turn to the closest left corridor. Maybe there was some chance that eventually he would find a one window and get some clue what side of the house he now was. But somehow this household didn’t seemed to like windows much. There were only small little squares close to the ceiling, too high for Bilbo to look out. He knew that this house had many floors, but one could think that they were living under the ground!

It finally seemed that luck was on his side today! Soon Bilbo was able to recognize the hallway to the vestibule he was first taken through. Now he only needed to speed up, run as fast as he ever could and then he would be out of the house. He might not be totally safe yet, but being outside seemed much safer than being inside the house full of criminals.

But then he bumped into something, or should I say someone, and fell backwards.

He was about to jump up and continue running, but he was stopped by the gaze of  piercing blue eyes. The power of that intense gaze was enough to make him feel so very small and powerless, that he was unable to move anymore.

“Oh there you are my lad!” Balin appeared from a corridor and placed a hand on a shoulder of the tall man next to him.

“May I introduce to you the leader of our company, Thorin Durin…!”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not describing the "dwarves" so detailed. I thought that since we all know how they look like, I should just mention the few essential things and express if I had changed some things of their looks. I hope that they don't bother you much!


	5. More like a grocer

Bilbo was screwed, of that he was sure.

Those piercing blue eyes kept their gaze locked as Balin helped him back on his feet. If Bilbo needed to describe Thorin Durin to someone right now, he could only say that the man had those icy blue eyes. He would not remember to tell about man’s thick short beard, long ponytailed black hair and the entirely black suit which shined little bit of bluish when the light hit it from the right angle. He could only see those enigmatic eyes.

“Mister Baggins! It’s dangerous to move by yourself here! You could have gotten lost inside the house!”

Bilbo hadn’t noticed how Ori had been chasing behind him, stricken with worry. It was his luck that Ori just believed that Bilbo had wanted to see the house instead of running away from it! If Ori had called to someone, things would have ended a lot less pretty; but Bilbo didn’t know that.

“So, this is the burglar?” Thorin leaned in to take a closer look at Bilbo. Somehow Bilbo managed to keep his dignity and didn’t shake uncontrollably as Thorin’s eyes were checking his from.

“Looks more like a grocer than a burglar,”  Thorin stated, gaining muffled laughter from the others who had gone to meet their boss and burglar in the hallway. Bilbo would have liked to say that he really _was_ more like a grocer than a burglar, but he saw that it was the best to keep his mouth shut until he had been told why the hell he was in this mansion with these people.

He didn’t have to wait long.

Bombur had arranged some little snacks in the dining room. He said that their Burglar looked so awfully small that if they didn’t feed him right that instant then he was sure the poor lad would drift away!

“I heard that Gandalf forgot to tell you about some details of this meeting?” Thorin said as his eyes drifted to Bilbo from the other side of the large table.

“Well… Let’s just say that there are small and big details he forgot to mention… He only told me that his friend, actually his late-friend’s grandson, was having a problem; and was certain that I could offer my help to him…”

“So he  told you practically nothing then.” Thorin sighed and silently cursed Gandalf.

“But you know who we are?” Fili asked, a little out of the breath from when he and Kili were running away from Dwalin. The meeting had been the only thing to pent up the large man’s anger. Both boys looked a little bit smug, so Bilbo assumed that Dwalin hadn’t had a chance to break Kili’s bow.

“Of course he knows about us! He is the amazing shadow-like burglar who knows the underworld even better than Gandalf and Thorin!” Nori stood up as he praised poor Bilbo.

Bilbo really didn’t like the sound of “shadow-like burglar” and “the underworld”, but the whole picture was starting to form in his mind. So these guys have mistaken him for some sort of experienced criminal?! Him? No way. What the hell had Gandalf been thinking, telling them something like that? But that would explain why they were so on guard with him; these guys would be very stupid if they had let a “shadow-like burglar” walk around and explore their house freely. 

 

“I need your help to defeat my worst enemy. I don’t assume that even _you_ know everything about him, but Gandalf guaranteed that you are the man who has the ability to get that information for me. I’ll give you all the money and assistance you need.”

“A-assistance?” Bilbo gulped.

“Yes. I can see that you aren’t much of a fighter. But Gandalf told me that already. He said that your skills are more along the lines of moving swiftly and staying invisible. That’s the reason why you know so much of this business without being known by yourself. But I’m sure that you haven’t been spying on the kinds of people we will encounter during this quest. So I’m pretty sure that mine and my men’s skills in shooting and fighting are required.”

“Sh-shooting..? Fighting…?” Bilbo repeated quietly. He had heard enough, there was no way that he could spy on the most feared criminals for another feared criminal!

“I can promise you that I’ll pay as much as you want. We can discuss the sums later, but first I need you to swear your loyalty to us and accept this task.”

This would be Bilbo’s last chance to leave this house. If they really thought that he was a professional criminal and were willing to offer money in exchange for his services, all he needed to do was decline.

“I’m so sorry, but I’m… On a holiday… Yeah, on a holiday..! And umm… When it ends, I’m way, way too busy with all the other great big nobs, so… Even though your offer sounds very.. nice (?), I think that I’ll pass this time…”, Bilbo explained and started to back out of the dining room.

“So, have a nice day and I wish you all the best. I think I’ll find my way out…”

But when Bilbo turned around the first thing he saw was a loaded gun pointed at him by Gloin.

A gun. A real, _loaded_ gun. Pointed at him. A gun, pointing at him…!

“I’m sorry that things had to come to this mister Baggins, but we can’t let you leave this house before you have agreed to take this job. And we’re not too sure if we can trust you after that either. So it would be best for all of us if you were to move into the mansion and never move around without a guard. After all, you’re an important ally for us. It would be a real pity if something were to happen to you, right?”

Bilbo didn’t hear Thorin’s speech. The only thing he could think about was that gun pointed at him. From the moment he was carried to the car by Dwalin and Gloin his destiny was sealed: he wouldn’t leave this house without helping these gangsters. They had no intentions to let him leave, after all he knew too much already.

The fear and stress were too much for him. Suddenly he didn’t feel his legs anymore and everything became dark.

 

 He fainted. 

 


	6. "I'll do it..!"

Had he been dreaming?

It must be so, and what a funny dream it had been indeed! Being captured by a feared crime organization, mistaken as a masterful burglar and being forced to help them out! Oh how Frodo will laugh at him! He will probably blame Bilbo for watching one of those action movies that his cousin from his mother’s side recommended! Alright, time to get up and make some breakfast!

But when Bilbo slowly opened his eyes he didn’t see familiar ceiling.

”Are you sure he is alright, mister Oin?”

Bilbo closed his eyes. It was Ori’s voice. He hadn’t dreamed after all. Rats.

“Yes my lad. I think that he will wake up soon. He could use a glass of water when he does; so go and ask Bombur to bring him one, will you?”

Bilbo heard the door open and close. Ori might have gone but that guy, Oin, must still be in the room. Bilbo didn’t want to wake up yet. He felt it was best to lie down and conjure up some sort of plan to get out of this mess.

Suddenly he heard a loud, gruff voice speaking, probably from the hallway.

“He is not the burglar we’re looking for! Gandalf cheated us!”

“Thorin, be reasonable! You know that Gandalf would never do that to us. If he is sure that mister Baggins is the man for this job then he must be the one!”

“Did you see how he fainted as soon as he saw the gun?! He isn’t fitting for the world of criminals. I don’t know how the hell he has ever gained his reputation, but apparently he has just been lucky. Well, now that luck isn’t enough, especially not against Smaug.”

That other voice must have been Balin’s. Bilbo hoped desperately that the older man could not convince Thorin of letting Bilbo do the job; if Thorin thought him worthless, maybe he would be free to leave.

“Then what are we going to do with him? We can’t actually let him leave with all the information he has probably already gathered from us, and finding another burglar would take too much time. We weren’t even sure if someone like him existed in a first place!”

“Can’t we just lock him up somewhere until I have found another way to defeat Smaug?”

What, lock him in somewhere?! Was that what they were going to do if they decided that Bilbo wasn’t much of a help?! No, no no no! There was no way that he was going to spend even a day of his life in a some sort of cell guarded by Mafiosos!  
If Bilbo hadn’t been panicking so much at the moment, he would have heard how Balin started to scold Thorin for even suggesting something like that, and reminded Thorin how Gandalf had always been right in his decisions, whenever Thorin had liked them or not. But Bilbo couldn’t stop himself. If playing criminal was to save his life that was what he was going to do.

“I’ll do it!” he shouted, jumping off of the bed.

He stood as tall as possible when he saw the surprised Oin sitting on a chair next to him, as well as the equally surprised Bombur and Ori who had just opened the door to bring him the glass of water; and behind them in the hallway stood Thorin and Balin, also very surprised from Bilbo’s sudden interruption.

“I’ll do it! I mean, since this seems to be so important I think I can rearrange my schedule and help you out… After all, I’m the master of all of those...things...burglarizing and spying, that is. You wouldn’t find anyone better than me!”

“I didn’t expect to hear that from a man who faints as soon as he sees a loaded pistol.” Thorin frowned, clearly still having suspicions on Bilbo after his speech.

“I… It… It wasn’t because of the gun, oh no! Sure, I have seen them before! I just… Well… Umm… You interrupted my afternoon tea, I haven’t eating a full meal in a whole day, of course I was feeling weak!”

“That’s what I was trying to tell you all along, Thorin!” Bombur laughed, offering Bilbo the water and a huge sandwich.

“Here, I made this for you..! I’m sorry, these guys just don’t get how an empty stomach can ruin your whole day!”

Bilbo thanked him and tasted the sandwich. The truth was that he wasn’t in the slightest bit hungry, in fact: he felt like throwing up because of all the stress and fear. Not feeling hungry was unfamiliar for Bilbo as usually he had a great appetite!

“So you got some guts after all! I knew it! Welcome to the family, Bilbo!” Bofur had found his way to the room too and was now shaking Bilbo’s hand.

“Didn’t I say, Uncle, that mister Boggins was just probably playing a trick on us? He just wanted to show his masterful acting skills that he uses for spying on the enemies!”

By now all the other men had gathered ‘round to celebrate.

“You fooled us all! I was almost sure that it was the first time you’d seen a gun!” Fili smiled and Bilbo tried to keep his cool.

One after another they were telling him how impressed they were of Bilbo’s acting skills, but Thorin still wasn’t convinced. Although he had to admit that Gandalf tended to have the craziest ideas, and somehow those ideas had always been victorious. But this wasn’t any small job; he wanted to take down the man who drove him into these law-stretching, cold blooded businesses in the first place! If their burglar wasn’t what Gandalf promised him to be, Thorin couldn’t guarantee Bilbo’s safety. By that, Thorin meant things that could happen to Bilbo during the quest and that he himself would do to the burglar if he had been lying about his skills. Because no matter how cute Bilbo was, Thorin wouldn’t allow anybody who cheated him to get away easily.

Wait, did he just think of their burglar as a cutie? Whatever….

“Prepare a room from him,” Thorin grumbled to Dori and retired back to his office.

“Welcome to the family, master Baggins! If there is anything you need please let us know!”

“Thank you mister Oin! Actually there is a one thing I would need from you right now… Oh and please, just call me Bilbo!”

Everyone was eager to hear Bilbo’s wish. They all started to look a little bit troubled when he asked a permission to visit in his home.

“I need to go back, just for a second to get my… Burglar things and such. You know, I don’t have a habit of carrying all my personal belongings with me everywhere!” Bilbo hoped against hope that this was   
convincing enough. After a moment of thinking, Dwalin, Bofur and Bifur decided to give Bilbo a ride back to his house.

“But let’s keep this a secret from Thorin. He wouldn’t like the idea that we’re letting you out of the house so soon."

 

\----------------------------------------

 

Eventually, Bilbo was back in the car on his way to his house.

“Oh, the address is-“

“Don’t bother, we already know where you live!” Bofur grinned and Bilbo went silent.

“When Gandalf told us your name, Thorin told Ori to find all the information of you we could ever need. You seemed to be so ordinary and such a dull lad that we were rightfully sure that it must be only a cover!”

“Ori… the young boy found all that?” Bilbo was amazed, ignoring the taste of an insult from Bofur’s explanation.

“Yeah! The lad might not be much help in a fight, but he is priceless when it comes to the technology and all the other computer stuff! Sadly, all the information on Smaug isn’t to be found through the internet or from the register; if so, he could do your job! But Ori really is amazing, isn’t he Dwalin?”

Bofur threw a knowing smirk to Dwalin who was driving again. He only huffed something inaudible and kept his focus on the road ahead of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this far! In next chapter we will meet some new characters again..!


	7. Someone who needs my help

Bilbo tried hard, but he was still unable to locate the household of Durin’s when Dwalin drove him back to the home. He had lived his whole life in that small village-like city, but it seemed that even he didn’t know all those little routes which were most likely known only by Thorin and his men.

When he was first taken to the Durin’s house, he was so in shock that he didn’t even realize he had been sitting in that car for over an hour. Now he understood how far he actually had been from his home.

Finally they arrived. Bifur and Bofur were ready to accompany him into the house, but Bilbo swore that he would only grab some things, doing so wouldn’t take more than five or ten minutes.  
Of course they were all reluctant to leave their burglar without a guard. But when Bilbo pleated very nicely, Bofur and Bifur softened a little bit.

“Well of course we have to show that we trust him even this much. He wouldn’t have time to do anything more than pack in ten minutes.”

Thank god that Bofur had so much confidence in poor Bilbo!

“Well okay. I’ll give you eight minutes. If you hadn’t come back at that time we will come to get you,” Dwalin finally said and after thanking them Bilbo jumped out of the car and practically ran home.

He was surprised to see that the door was unlocked. Great, had he been robbed today as well?  
Well, Bilbo didn’t had any time to think about that. He stepped in and was surprised to see his nephew and his two friends sitting in the living room.

“Uncle Bilbo!” Frodo leapt to hug his uncle.

“I was getting worried, where were you?!”

“Fro-Frodo! What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be still in school?”

“Normally yes, but we have this one week when we need to study independently at home. We were also given a long weekend. I wanted to surprise you, that’s why didn’t tell you about this any sooner.”

Oh no. Normally Bilbo would have been so happy to see Frodo, but now when three gangster-like men were sitting in the car outside of his house he wished that Frodo would be anywhere but here.

“Umm… Frodo, listen to me. I’m so sorry but I must leave now, I have something very important to do! I might not come back for a while, so it would be all the best if you could spend that week in Sam’s house.”

Frodo looked confused, but Bilbo didn’t give him any time to ask questions.

“Please. I know that this sounds weird; your dull uncle has something serious to do all of sudden, just believe me when I say that it’s all right and only temporary! I just happened to meet… Umm... Someone… Who needs my help and… Umm…”

It was hard for Bilbo to think and speak so fast at the same time. But it seemed that his smart Frodo understood the problem.

“Oh uncle..! If you have met someone nice you could have just said so! No need to lie about it! I hope she’s good for you!” Frodo smiled and nudged Bilbo playfully on the shoulder.

“What..?! No it’s not like… Oh, never mind..!”

After all, maybe it was best to let Frodo think that Bilbo had a lover than let the boy know the truth...

Bilbo advised Frodo to serve some cake to his guest before he started to run from room to room gathering as many useful things as he could. He glanced his watch.

Damn, only three minutes left.

He had never done anything so fast in his whole life. He was ready on a time, carrying an old backpack where he had stuffed some clothes and his few other everyday items.  
His first intention was to run home and call the police. But because of Frodo he didn’t had time to do so anymore. He really hoped that Dwalin, Bifur or Bofur hadn’t noticed that Bilbo wasn’t alone in his house. The last thing he wanted to do was to involve Frodo and his friends into this mess.

There was still one minute left. Bilbo hurried to the kitchen to say goodbye to Frodo, who once again hugged his uncle and wished him good luck with his courting.

“Oh and Sam! Could you ask your parents to keep eye on my garden? I promise I’ll pay them afterwards.”

“No problem mister Baggins!” Sam, Frodo’s closest friend and neighbour waved from the table.

Now when Bilbo was sure that his Frodo and the garden were in a good hands he run back to the car feeling a little bit lighter.  
When he jumped back to the back seat next Bofur he saw how Dwalin hung up his telephone.

“See, I said that we could trust him!” Bofur grinned as Dwalin started the car.

Dwalin huffed and Bilbo felt that the tattooed man might still have some suspicions on him. But Bilbo had kept his word. He hadn't done anything more than gathered some of his belongings, and he was sure that letting his nephew believe he was on a holiday with some nice lass didn’t do any harm to Durin’s household.

“I think that I still haven’t gained his trust,” Bilbo whispered to Bofur who didn’t care to lower his own voice.

“Nah, don’t try to read too much from his face. Dwalin here likes you pretty much already, as we all do! Well, he surely doesn’t like you as much as he likes his little Ori, but that’s a thing you should keep hush about when Nori, and especially Dori are near. And you just gave him a perfect excuse to call Ori, so I think he is more like thankful to you now.”

Bilbo didn’t get it. How come he had given Dwalin a perfect excuse to call the youngest lad of the house?

“You see, we weren’t sure were you trying to call someone and let out some information about us. So Dwalin called Ori and asked him to listen in on your calls just in case. But like I said, you are a very trustworthy fellow. Ori assured that no phone calls were made from your house. Ori truly is an amazing lad, right Dwalin?” Bofur repeated himself in that last sentence just to tease the tattooed man.

“Shut up,” Dwalin blushed just a tiniest bit and gained great laughter from Bifur and Bofur. 

Bilbo leaned back and sighed. It now seemed that he had to play this game till the end of it. Who knows what will happen to him? After all, he is playing this game with Mafiosos against other criminals. Bilbo couldn’t figure out whether he was on the bad or the good guys side, but he wasn’t one to decide about it. And at least his most important possession in the world, Frodo, was safe. Thank god he asked the boy to spend the week in Sam’s house! Who knows if these guys were keeping an eye of his home and would think that Frodo had something do with Bilbo’s business! But then again, Ori must have found out in his research about Bilbo’s nephew, but it would have been hard to explain what the boy had been doing home in the middle of the school week! Bilbo would feel lot easier to know that Frodo was right now happy for him, eating cake with Sam and his other friend, and would then go to study over at Sam’s house!

Wait… “With Sam and his other friend?” Who the hell that other boy was? Oh no…

 

\--------------------------------------------------------

 

“Well Frodo, let’s finish this cake so you could pack. I’m sure that mom has kept our guest room ready for you to use!” Sam clapped his hands together after Bilbo had hurried out of the house.

“But Sam, wasn’t Rose supposed to come over your house this weekend? You have been waiting to spend some time with her for a whole month! I don’t wanna be the third wheel,” Frodo explained but Sam said that he would never leave his friends over a girlfriend.

“She will understand. Besides, I would feel really guilty if I leave you alone in this big house!”

“Or you could just come to my place, I wouldn’t mind at all,” Aragorn, that other friend of Frodo’s spoke.

He was a senior from school and treated Frodo kindly, but only because he felt sympathy for the other boy, or at least that was what Frodo thought. Right now Aragorn was only spending time in Frodo’s house because he was the one who gave him and Sam a lift back to home from the school (luckily Aragorn had parked his car on the other side of road, so Dwalin and his companion hadn’t noticed it.) Frodo invited him in for a cup of tea, but Aragorn had stayed longer when Frodo got worried about his uncle.

“If we leave soon, we will be at my house before the midnight.” Aragorn watched his phone and then lifted his gaze back to Frodo and smiled.

“Oh no! I mean, I don’t wanna bother you either!” Frodo got so nervous. That would normally amuse Sam, since his friend was usually so composed. But even though Sam didn’t have anything against Aragorn, he wasn’t sure whenever he should trust his best friend in the older boy’s hands.

“I live alone, you wouldn’t be bothering me at all! Besides, I would spend next week alone by myself too, so I would really like some company…”

Frodo hoped that Sam or Aragorn didn’t see him blushing. Without seeming too eager he accepted Aragorn’s offer and started to pack.

He was so thankful to his uncle right now. Thanks to him, Frodo had now perfect excuse to spend time with his crush alone for over a week! This will be great! He was so sure that upcoming week was to be best of his life!

And he was sure that Bilbo was also having a time of his life with his loved one..!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be the real start of this adventure! Thank you all for reading this far, I hope that you have interest to follow this fic till the last chapter (which it's not gonna come any soon!)!


	8. That’s a GREAT idea!

The whole weekend was spent by Bilbo asking things about this Smaug guy from his new “family”. He was told that he needed to know what Thorin’s men already knew about their enemy. He was totally not asking these things because he himself had no idea who Smaug was. 

So far Bilbo had learned why Smaug was this family’s archenemy: He was Thorin’s grandfather, Thror’s business partner in the mining company. But Smaug played dirty game and cheated the company from Thror. Not only he stole the company, Smaug also robbed Thror’s family treasure: the Arkenstone. 

Apparently that stone is one of the most valuable stones in the whole world and it was a great obsession to Thror. When he had lost his precious stone, he fell apart. Now that stone haunted Thorin’s mind, and it seemed that he wanted to rob it back from Smaug before destroying him; it would be a perfect revenge. 

“So what happened to mister Thror? Did he get so depressed that he lost his will to live?”, Bilbo asked, curious to hear more from Balin whom he had talked to the whole of Sunday evening. 

“No, but he became desperate. After losing his company he borrowed money from some Mafiosos… It’s not hard to guess that in the end he was unable to pay them back.”

“What happened?”

“One of those Mafiosos, Azog killed him. Back then Thorin was only in his twenties, and he witnessed his grandfather’s brutal murder. But he didn’t waste any time. With our, his family’s help, Thorin hunted Azog down and ripped out his arm..! After that, we all promised that we would be loyal to him and help him to defeat Smaug, get back the money and the arkenstone he took from our family..!”

Balin’s story of Thorin’s life sounded so awful, yet so awesome..! Thorin had been through a lot. Bilbo didn’t dare to ask what had happen to Thorin’s father; he was pretty sure that there was a big tragedy behind that too.

“So what happened to Azog?”

“That bastard died of his wounds not after too long.” A crude voice behind him made Bilbo shiver and as he turned around he saw Thorin staring down at him.

“I’m pretty sure that I hired you to do some research about Smaug, not about this family.”

“I’m sorry, it must be some kind of… Occupational disease…” Bilbo apologized, and was glad when Balin started to defend him.

“Don’t be like that Thorin. Sure it’s only fair for mister Baggins to know these kinds of things. It’s not like your story isn’t familiar to your enemies either.”

Thorin frowned and left Bilbo and Balin alone in the hall, sitting next to the fireplace where they had been talking all along. 

“Well... I hope you come up with some kind of plan to get more information about Smaug soon. Then Thorin could be a little bit less peeved.” Balin smiled as he reached to add more logs into the fireplace. 

“Or you can rest your brains and listen what we got to say..!”

Fili and Kili had snuck in the hall and were dragging more chairs next to the fireplace to sit down.

“Seems like it’s bedtime for me then..!” Balin laughed and stood up. He had clearly heard enough of Thorin’s heirs’ “master plans” in the past. Before he left the patted Bilbo on the shoulder and told him not to take boys too seriously. 

Fili and Kili leaned closer to Bilbo, eager to tell him what they had in their minds.

“You know, we actually weren’t supposed to be there, so don’t mention about it to Thorin please!” Fili started warningly.

“Wait just wait..! You two weren’t supposed to be where?”

“In that bar we just returned from..! Uncle Thorin doesn’t like it when we hang out there, especially in any other evening than Saturday when it’s full. That bar’s regular customers are usually Mafiosos or people who have contacts to them, so when there isn’t to many people in there it’s not so safe for us to hang out there… If we are not careful, someone could recognize us and use us against Thorin… ”, Kili explained quickly to Bilbo.

“Okay, I won’t tell him (like I would even speak to him willingly…)… So, what were you doing in there then?”

The brothers weren’t too sure should they tell Bilbo the truth and say that they just wanted to rebel against their uncle, or should they come up with better excuse. 

“It doesn’t really matter… But listen! We overheard how three men were talking about Smaug!”

Oh no. Bilbo wasn’t too sure he wanted to hear what Fili had to say anymore..! This was happening too soon; he thought he could just sit in the house for a couple of days more just pretending that he was plotting something.

“They were huge, muscular guys! But apparently also very stupid, speaking so loudly of their businesses! We heard that they mentioned Smaug’s name few times as they were talking something about money..!”

“And..?” 

“That’s all we heard. But when we asked around, very carefully, we swear..! We get to know that those guys were staying in a motel nearby and were about to spend couple more days in the town. It must be because they have some business with Smaug..!”

Bilbo thought about this for a moment. He surely didn’t like where the boys were leading him..! 

“You don’t mean that you want me to go that bar and talk with these guys, so I could see what they actually are for Smaug..?”, Bilbo so hoped that he was wrong.

Fili and Kili glanced at each other and grinned.

“No, but that’s a GREAT idea! We just thought that you could go there and eaves drop on them, since our faces are bit too known in that bar by now… You really are genius mister Boggins..!” The boys were getting excited.

Damn. Only if Bilbo had kept his mouth shut…

“Maybe I should just do that eavesdropping thing after all…” He tried but Fili and Kili were too into his first plan by now.

“No no! It would be perfect! By talking with them you could get so much more out than just listening them..! And nobody knows your face; they would never know that you got to do something with us!”

There was no chance to talk him out of it anymore. Fili and Kili promised that they would be somewhere nearby and ready to help Bilbo if anything went wrong. The boys were sure that it was best to do the plan tomorrow night, since they were sure that those guys would be there then too.   
Bilbo just wanted to fell asleep and never wake up. Now he actually needed to come up with a good plan so he could have something to rely on tomorrow..! But even thought he was now living with some sort of gangsters he had no idea how to talk to them, so it was better to spend his night by thinking that.

But one thing was especially haunting his mind…

“So umm… How big those men actually were...?”

“Like huge! They were much taller than Dwalin and more muscular also! But they were much uglier than him! Don’t worry; you will recognize them when you see them. They are like giants!”

Shit. Bilbo was so screwed now…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As the writer of this fic I have a strong feeling that the rating will change to explicit because of a sexual content in the later chapters, but not anytime soon. I would like to hear some opinions about that. And because of this is a mafia!au, I could change this fic's rating soon to mature beacuse of violence, just to be safe. 
> 
> Btw, I watched The Hobbit again today..! It was a bad decision, now I can't wait till the second movie :


	9. Eat you up

What the hell Bilbo had been thinking?

 

Why he ever agreed to do this?

 

Fili and Kili had made sure that everyone else thought that Bilbo was still in his room. When they were sure that others were either sleeping or doing some paperwork in their offices, Kili snuck into Bilbo’s room and escorted him out of the house. 

Fili was waiting them outside behind the large trees. 

“Wow mister Baggins! You look awesome!” Fili stated as he saw Bilbo’s appearance.

Bilbo had abandoned his usual casual and comfortable suit. Instead of that, he now wore a black long jacket he had borrowed from Kili. Well, the jacket actually wasn’t so long when Kili wore it, but since Bilbo was one head shorter than him the jacket reached him down to his knees. With it he wore black fitting trousers, also borrowed from Kili, but since they were his old ones Bilbo didn’t drown in them.  
He had combed his curls and stuffed them under a cap. He also wore dark big sunglasses which almost covered his whole face. Needless to say, those accessories were also borrowed from Kili.

“You look good in my clothes..!” Kili smiled as he admired Bilbo. 

“Well, I hope they make me look tough enough so I won’t stand out too much in that bar…”

“Don’t worry, you will blend in. Even though you look more like a cutie than a tough guy, thanks to Kili’s big baggy jacket..!” Fili patted Bilbo on the shoulder.

“Yeah, you’re so cute that I could eat you up mister Boggins..!” Kili teased and gained angry look from Bilbo, which boys didn’t see behind his big sunglasses, of course.

“Enough of jokes..! Boys in your age should only call girls at the same age cuties, not men at their thirties..! And for the last time, it’s just Bilbo..! Drop the mister Baggins when you can’t even spell it right..!”

When brothers had made enough fun of Bilbo they were finally ready to leave. Fili had hid their motorcycles behind threes earlier on a day enough far from the house so nobody couldn’t hear them leaving.   
Bilbo rode with Kili, holding very tightly to the boy’s waist when they drove off. 

 

Fili and Kili parked their bikes enough far from the bar so that they wouldn’t be connected to Bilbo. 

“Just go there and do your trick. If something goes wrong just press this button and we will come to your rescue.” Fili explained as he gave his telephone to Bilbo.

Bilbo hid the phone in his jacket’s pocket and tried to calm down. He couldn’t back down anymore. Maybe he would still live to see tomorrow if all he was going to do was to talk to those men.   
After the brothers had wished him good luck Bilbo took a deep breath and marched into the bar. 

“Well..?” Fili glanced Kili.

“Since when have you preferred cute ones?” 

“I always have you know..! But don’t worry; I still like your kind; strong and handsome.” Kili grinned to his brother teasingly who turned his gaze down on his shoes and smiled.

“Idiot.”

\-------------

 

Bilbo had never liked bars or clubs.

The particular reason for that was that they were always pretty messy and smoky. They reeked of alcohol and were full of drunken people who had no manners. 

Well okay. Maybe Bilbo had made that image out of the few bars and clubs he ever entered before he started to take care of Frodo. But this bar right here fitted in that image more than perfectly, so Bilbo wasn’t going to change his opinion of them any time soon. 

The brothers had been right. Nobody paid too much attention on him when he asked bartender to give him one glass of whiskey. He hoped that nobody saw how his hands were shaking a little bit when he gulped his drink down. 

“Now… Where are those three giants..?” Bilbo let his eyes wander in tables, secretly hoping that he wouldn’t find those men at all. Then he could say that he tried and this would be all over.

But it was really hard to miss those ugly, huge men. Two of them were sitting at the corner table drinking large beers; only two of them.

Before he even had time to think where the third guy was, someone bumped on him.

Bilbo didn’t know should he feel lucky when he lifted his gaze up and saw the missing guy in front of him. Kili and Fili hadn’t been lying. This guy was huge. 

Okay, Bilbo was really short for a man. Shorter than most girls actually, so it didn’t take much to make him feel small. But standing next to this guy made him feel non-existant. Bilbo barely reached to guy’s waist!  
If Bilbo hadn’t squeaked out of surprise the man hadn’t probably noticed him at all. Again, he wasn’t sure was he lucky when the man looked down at him and lifted an eyebrow.

“You’re small like a bug..!” The giant-like man commented rudely. 

Now, this was Bilbo’s chance.

“We-well… I-I don’t need to be big when I have friends in high places..!”, he stuttered, somehow managing to look much tougher than he felt.

“How could a shrimp like you know anyone from the top?” The man asked, bending down so that he could see Bilbo’s small form from a better height. Bilbo knew exactly what to say.

“Does the name… Smaug sound familiar..?”

Bullseye. 

The man ordered Bilbo another drink and took him to sit with him and his two friends at their table. 

“Sit down lad. I’m William; these guys are Tom and Bert. “

“Who the hell is this little slug?” Tom rudely asked. 

“Shut up idiot! He is a friend of “the boss”..!” William slapped his friend, who was about to hit him back before he could understand what William meant.

“What! Did that sneaky bastard send a spy after us?!”

“No! I’m not a spy!” Bilbo hurried to explain. 

“Then why would a friend of that greedy scum’s be doing here?!” Bert wanted to know. 

Damn. Fili and Kili were also right about it when they told that these guys were idiots… But that fact was to be Bilbo’s savior later.

It didn’t take long him to realize that these guys didn’t actually have any warm feelings to their boss. He was gonna use that information.

“Well… Uh… I was just hoping that I could find someone who could help me to take Smaug down… You know, I hate that… Douchebag …”

Perfect, the three men took his bait. 

“You’re talking to right men, my friend! You know, we have wanted to punch that slime on the face for years now!”

All three started to tell him what exactly they had wanted to do to Smaug if only they have had a chance.

“So… You have never actually met him, right?” Bilbo asked carefully.

“If we had, he wouldn’t be alive anymore! For years we have been smuggling guns and weapons for him, and he never pays us what he promises! He always finds something to nag about of the stuff we bring, and refuses to pay the whole amount!”

“But since that guy has henchmen all around the country we just have to swallow it..!”

“Yeah! Once when we had, had enough we threatened to kill that one guy who came to collect the shipment if he didn’t pay us what we deserved. Then out of nowhere a bullet hit Bert’s shoulder, and we were warned never to try something like that ever again!”

So these guys hated but also feared Smaug. It really was true then; big brains were much more dangerous than big muscles.

“But you, my friend..! You are close to that bastard, right? You could arrange a little meeting between him and us so we could finally have our little chat with him, right?” Tom sneered as he pointed at Bilbo.

“Umm…. Well… I’m not actually that close to him, I just…. Umm... What kinds of guns you are selling for him..?”

Bilbo tried to change the topic. He didn’t want to start plotting another dangerous plan to get Smaug down. He thought that he should just get to know what those guys were actually shipping to Smaug; maybe that information could be somewhat useful to Thorin. When he had done that, he could just excuse himself and flee.

But of course, it wasn’t going to be so easy.

“Come with us and we’ll show them to you. That sneak’s men were supposed to come and collect them tomorrow, but it seems like you can help us so we could use those treasures for a better meaning, if you catch my drift.” Now Bert was sneering and gained ominous laughing sounds from his friends. 

Bilbo tried to decline, but it was too late. The men started to walk him out of the bar, taking him to the place where they had hid the guns. Bilbo got worried when he was forced to step out of the street into the woods. It was dark and the men urged him to walk so fast that he soon lost the sense of his whereabouts. 

There was no way that this could end well…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the misleading chapter title..! 
> 
> Soon, we're gonna see some real action..(if only I know how to write some, that's it...)!


	10. Friendly face

Thorin couldn’t sleep.

 

He was in his office, trying to do some not-so-important paperwork. But the work couldn’t distract him from what was bothering him.

What if they had hired a wrong burglar?

What if Gandalf had finally gone mad and picked a wrong kind of man for them?

When Gandalf had descripted Bilbo for him in the phone, Thorin had imagined a whole kind of different man than who he actually saw.

“Mister Baggins' build is very small; he has curly caramel brown hair and a friendly face. But you are not to judge him from his appearance; he is very strong-willed, positive and has very sharp mind. He is quick in his moves as well as in his thoughts. I can assure you, my friend; that you won’t be finding anyone better than him for this job..!” Those had been Gandalf’s exact words from the previous week. 

But Thorin hadn’t seen none of those things what Gandalf had descripted to him, expect the facts that descripted Bilbo’s from.

Mister Baggins was clumsy, quiet, helpless and coward. He had probably never even held a gun, if he’d ever even seen one anyway… And even if you couldn’t expect to see a tough, strong looking guy after hearing Gandalf’s words, Thorin had still made whole different kind of image of Bilbo. Yes, he expected to see a short man, but not so ridiculously small as Bilbo was. Bilbo barely reached to his shoulders. And Thorin had always thought that Ori was small… Curly caramel brown hair didn’t mean that that hair would frame man’s face so perfectly and shine beautifully in the hallways yellow light.   
And friendly face didn’t necessary meant that Bilbo would be such a cutie. But that’s what he was.

Why he was again thinking Bilbo as cute? Damn, he was being distracted again…

No, this can’t continue. The past few days Thorin had just been worrying over what could happen if mister Baggins was to do something wrong in this quest. The best way to get this out of his mind was to talk privately with Bilbo and find out for hisself what Bilbo was capable to do. And tonight would as good time as any.

Thorin made sure that nobody saw him as he left his office to find his way to mister Baggins’ room; he didn’t want them to think that Thorin was going to intimidate their burglar in some way. After all, everybody seemed to like Bilbo already very much and was telling Thorin all the time just to lay his trust on the small man too. Even though they all respected Thorin as their leader, they would express their unhappiness if Thorin harmed Bilbo in any way.

“I wonder how I ever found those guys suitable for this kind of business..! Thank god they aren’t so soft when it comes to shooting enemies..!” Thorin shook his head as he was finally standing before Bilbo’s room.

They had put Bilbo in the room what you could only lock from the outside. But Thorin was polite and decided to knock first.

“Mister Baggins? Are you still awake? I would like to have a word with you.”

No answer. Thorin tried again.

“Mister Baggins?”

Thorin opened the door. When he saw an empty bed he felt how his rage started to grow.

So, their burglar had run away, he knew it..!

Thorin turned around when he heard footsteps from the hallway. He rushed to look who it was, and was pretty disappointed when he saw Ori.

“Ori..! Have you seen our burglar?!” Thorin demanded to know.

“N-no I haven’t..!” Ori stammered, frightened of Thorin’s sudden appearance.

“Ori, are you telling me the truth? Why are you still awake wandering here?”

Ori had nothing to hide, but he was shaking and stuttering the whole time when he spoke to his boss.

“I-I swear I haven’t seen or heard anything..! I was just… Uh, checking some things on the internet, and got a little bit worry when I didn’t get any… Interffering e-mails from mister Fili or mister Kili. They tend to do that usually this time of week and this time of night… So I just… Decided to visit in their room and check were they okay, or had they got mad at me for some reason…”

It all started to become clear to Thorin. His nephews would never pass a chance to tease Ori if they didn’t have anything better to do. And since Thorin didn’t remember giving boys anything unusual to do, his suspicions awakened. 

Thorin rushed to Fili and Kili’s room (yes, the house was big but the boys wanted to share the same room, saying it was some kind of brotherly thing. Did Thorin want to know if they were lying? No, no he didn’t…).  
Without knocking Thorin opened the door and when he saw an empty bed (yes, the room was fairly large, but he decidedly did not want to know if they were lying or not) Thorin just knew that his good for nothing nephews were up to something.

“Ori! Wake up Dwalin and others! It seems that we’re in for a busy night..!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have written a few more chapters more than I have yet added here, so I knew to change the rating now so I wouldn't forget to do so in future.


	11. Please notice

Bilbo wasn’t feeling comfortable at all in the middle of the forest with three tall, muscular, ugly and rude men. Those guys looked like trolls from fairytale books Bilbo used to read Frodo. He remembered how he had comfort the little boy by telling him that trolls really didn’t exist. Well, guess that he would have to take that back now… But no matter how much these guys looked like ugly trolls, Bilbo was pretty sure that the sunlight wouldn’t turn them to stone, unfortunately. 

But one credit that Bilbo would have to give them was that they really had hid their load pretty well; Bilbo would have never find their car in that forest, it had been painted and covered so well that it blended in perfectly..!

“Now, there must be some good stuff in there..!”, Tom grinned as he lifted easily one of the heavy boxes out of the car. 

“Even we don’t know what’s actually inside of these boxes, but this shipment must be the most important one we ever have smuggled. We heard that it was the most expensive that Smaug had ever bought..!”

Oh no. Bilbo was in a big, big mess now.

“Umm… Yeah, that’s… Great…? Well, it’s been very charming evening misters. I hope to meet you again sometimes… Good night..!”, Bilbo tried but failed.

“Hold on shortie..! Weren’t you supposed to take us to see your “friend”?”, Bert stopped him.

“Yeah, you haven’t even told us your name yet… If someone so small as you even has one..!”, William added and suddenly they all were very suspicious about Bilbo.

“My… My name you said?”

Damn, Bilbo had made up a good alias for himself but the fear made him forget it…

“I… Uh… I think that it would be the best if… If we’ll meet tomorrow again and…”, oh no, his mouth was getting dry. 

Bilbo was sure that he would be much faster in the forest ground than those three large men, so he decided that it was best to run. But when he tried to leave William lifted him up from his jacket’s collar and suddenly Bilbo was up in the air, face to face with that giant.

“It seems to me that you’re not so willing to take us to see Smaug anymore, hmm? I’m getting a feeling that you have been lying to us..!”

Maybe Bilbo really had been too optimistic when he thought that he would live to see another day.

Bilbo opened his mouth to give some kind of explanation to these now so very angry men, when his voice was cut down by a loud “bam!”

Someone was firing at them.

“Drop him!”

Kili had jumped out of the bushes and was now pointing a gun and a short knife at William, Tom and Bert.

“Who is he? He is a bit too young to be one of Smaug’s men..!”, Bert blurt out as he was giving a curious look towards Kili, not caring the slightest bit about the gun that the boy was holding.

“I said… Drop him!”, Kili repeated now ready to shoot again.

There was no need to, thought. William threw Bilbo in the air and Kili just barely caught him, and they both fell on the ground. Then happened something that Bilbo hadn’t been expecting.

Suddenly Fili, Dwalin Gloin, Bombur, Bifur, Nori and Bofur appeared from the woods and were all firing with guns and attacking with some other weapons against those giants. And what surprised Bilbo the most was that Thorin was also there, fighting next to his men.

Kili told Bilbo to hide and run to help his family. They were trying to end this fast, since someone was sure to hear them and dealing with police was always so inconvenient, Bilbo got explained later. But right now was not later, he was middle of a battling scene!

And it wasn’t looking too good. Thorin’s men were putting a good fight but those three giants were like monsters! Even though they all had been wounded on several places it didn’t slow them down. Few times Bilbo could see how someone of his new “family” was flying in the air, landing painfully on the hard ground. He got to do something before someone gets seriously hurt or actually dies.

He sneaked behind the box that Tom had lifted out of the car. Maybe he could find some good weapon inside of it and if he himself didn’t know how to use it then he would find someone who did. 

But once again, nothing went like he had planned.

Bilbo felt how someone took a firm, crushing grip from his head and shouted.

“Put your guns down, now! Or I’m gonna smash his head!”

Everybody froze. Tom was holding Bilbo’s head, ready to crush him if even one of Thorin’s men were trying to attack again. 

Bilbo started to feel sick. His head hurt so much.

Thorin didn’t have time to think. He dropped his gun down and told everyone else to do the same. Then William and Bert forced them to lie down on their stomachs on the ground.

“So you’re his friends then? So willing to give up on a fight just to save his life?”, Bert mocked Thorin.  
Tom released Bilbo who curled up on the ground, holding his head. He felt extremely sick but he knew that he couldn’t waste any time. If Thorin and his men were about to die because of him, he would never forgive himself! He got to do something, just something…

Then he felt how something was pressing against his side inside of his jacket. 

Oh, it must be the telephone Fili gave to him. Why Bilbo was such an idiot and didn’t remember to push that button before this whole mess started?! But then again, the boys must have seen how he was taken into the woods and followed him. After all Kili had come to his rescue as soon as it was needed.

But it wasn’t the phone, Bilbo soon noticed.

It was a gun.

What the hell a real gun was doing in a Kili’s old jacket?! Oh well, it was probably as normal to Mafiosos to forget a gun or a two in their pockets like it was to Bilbo to forget few tissues and coins in his own. No wonder that the jacket seemed heavy and made a funny sound when Kili tossed it on Bilbo’s bed earlier.

And then suddenly, an idea hit him.

 

“They are not my friends…”, Bilbo stated and fumbled back on his feet. 

You would not believe it that this thinking progress had only took a few seconds from Bilbo. But maybe Gandalf had been surprisingly right when he told Thorin that Bilbo’s mind was very sharp.

Now all the eyes were fixed on Bilbo. Now he needed to keep his cool, no matter what.

“I think I have played this game enough already. For me it’s all the same what you do to them, I was planning to shoot them by myself someday anyway..!”

Bilbo slide his hands in his pockets. He felt the gun in his other hand and the phone in his other.

Somehow Bilbo managed to be so convincing that the Durin’s family was also starting to suspect him.

“Bilbo… What are you talking about..?”, Bofur hissed and Bilbo felt a sharp sting in his heart as he continued.

“Well, it was fun as long as it lasted. But I must say that I didn’t expect you to buy it so well! You really are fools, all of you!”

“What are you saying?! You’re not serious, are you?!”

The only thing that stopped Thorin’s men from struggling was the guns that were pointed at their heads by Bert and William. Tom was still standing close to Bilbo, eager to see what Bilbo was up to.

“You really are something, shrimp! You let these guys think of you as a friend and let them save your life..! Then you’re just leaving them to die!”, Tom was thrilled. 

Bilbo turned to look Thorin, those icy blue eyes of his and nodded. 

“I’m the devil, aren’t I?”, he said and kept his eyes on Thorin’s. 

“Please notice… Please!”, Bilbo pleaded in his thoughts that Thorin would understand.

At first Thorin’s face were full of disbelieve like others, but then he started to see behind Bilbo’s faked smug look. 

So, the burglar had a plan.

“So after that these weaklings have been taken care of you’re gonna help us to get Smaug?”, Bert sneered, but didn’t get the answer he would have liked when Bilbo shook his head.

“I’m afraid gentlemen that that can’t be arranged. You see, I’m pretty loyal to my boss.”

“What?!”, all three men yelled as Bilbo took Fili’s telephone out of his pocket.

“I’m sorry to tell you this but my boss had heard every single thing you guys have said in this evening. He considered hiring some new staff, so naturally he needed to get rid off some old ones.”

Then Bilbo drew the gun too.

“His henchmen will be here soon. So if you don’t want to end up full of holes, I suggest that it would be best to lie down too and obey my orders.”

Bilbo knew that these monsters weren’t afraid of police or other Mafiosos, but he knew that for a some reason they were terrified of Smaug, the man none of them had ever met. Just mentioning his name should be enough to scare those idiots, Bilbo had thought. 

But those men were full of rage and fear now, and it made them act so very stupid but dangerously towards Bilbo. 

Suddenly, before Bilbo could react in any way, Tom was strangling him and shouting curses. William and Bert also wanted to give that spy what he deserved and blinded by their anger they turned their backs towards Thorin and his men and were ready to attack on Bilbo too. 

 

Thorin didn’t waste any second. In the blink of an eye he had snatched his gun back and shot Tom deadly on the head. 

Bilbo fell on the ground, gasping for air. His ears were suddenly filled with the sounds of gun shooting and screaming. Then he felt how someone grabbed him from the arm and pulled up.

“Com’ on! We have to run now..!”, Bofur hurried and suddenly Bilbo was running with him through the woods, having time to catch his breath only when they were finally sitting in the car. It was over, finally, Bilbo thought as he leaned his head against the backseats window.

 

 

The sun was starting to rise.


	12. Turn a blind eye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for kudos, comments, bookmarks and views guys! I really appreciate every single one of them!

It was such a hassle. 

 

As soon as Bofur had driven Bilbo back to the house, Oin hurried to check Bilbo’s condition. He was forced to lie down on his bed after Oin had made him drink something that tasted like bitter tea but Bilbo was sure that it wasn’t anything like tea. It made him feel very sleepy and soon he was unconscious about the world around him.

“There you go, just sleep for a while…”, Oin whispered and tugged Bilbo more comfortably in the bed. 

After he was sure that Bilbo hadn’t get any wounds or broke anything in his body, Oin smiled and left Bilbo to enjoy of his sleep. He himself was soon needed elsewhere, when Bofur drove back to help collect other of their family members from the woods.

None of them was seriously hurt. Only some bruises, few bleeding minor wounds and a few broken ribs.

Of course, Fili and Kili were feeling a little bit guilty because they had put their burglar in danger, but when Oin assured them that Bilbo wasn’t hurt badly anywhere the boys felt little lighter. Both brothers had gained few nasty looking scratches in their arms and legs, plus Kili had one broken rib and twisted angle. Fili had also hit his head on a tree when one of those gangsters threw him in the air. But for them these kinds of wounds were pretty usual. Besides, they both knew that once their uncle gets to know the whole story they would suffer much more than they did now.

Ori and Dori were relieved to see that Nori got only a few bruises and a black eye. Well actually, Ori was relieved, since Dori was sure that just three giant-like men were not so dangerous that they could hurt his brother too badly. If it had been Ori though, Dori would worry himself sick. But Nori was a survivor. Before he and his family started to work for Thorin years ago, Nori used to help his family’s money problems by stealing. That’s why he knew how to distract polices and kept them busy while the others were getting rid of the evidence. 

“Where is mister Dwalin?”, Ori hurried to ask, and left his brothers side as he run to look for the older man.

Ori found him from the kitchen. Like all the others, Dwalin was covered in blood, not in his own of course, but Ori got worried anyway.

“Ori..! I’m sorry lad, I didn’t mean to let you see me like this. I just thought that I would get something to drink before heading to shower.”

It was first time for Ori to see Dwalin right after the battle. Usually Dwalin had time to clean himself up before Ori had a chance to find him. 

“Do… Do you need a-any help mi-mister Dwalin..?”, Ori swallowed half of his words, trying to be strong in front of his objection of admiration. 

Dwalin shook his head and thanked. Now he was feeling so very guilty for letting Ori worry so much. But that was not the only thing he was feeling guilty about…

 

Just some hours ago, Dwalin was in his room taking his shirt off, getting ready for the bed. Then someone had knocked on his door. When Dwalin opened it, he had expected to see anyone else but Ori there.

Ori went speechless and just stared Dwalin for a moment, blushing so sweetly.

And for a second Dwalin had let himself to think that maybe Ori had come there to see him, sneaked out from his room just so he could meet Dwalin privately. Maybe Bofur wasn’t wrong when he once said that someday Dwalin would find out that this young boy felt the same for him as he felt for Ori. 

“What is it Ori? Come on in.”, Dwalin asked in a low voice and gestured Ori to step in. 

“Wha...? No, I mean, mister Durin sent me..! It seems that mister Baggins and mister Fili and mister Kili have disappeared… Mister Durin is waiting you and others in his office…”

Ori didn’t know where to look anymore. He felt so stupid when he had just stared Dwalin’s shirtless body when there was a real emergency going on. 

Dwalin had nodded, pulled his shirt back and hurried to Thorin’s office. Ori just stood there, blushing even more deeply when he thought that he could have actually had a change to visit in mister Dwalin’s room..!

 

But now after everything Dwalin felt himself so very stupid for letting himself think that Ori would approach him with any other that work related things. 

“I’m fine Ori.”, Dwalin confirmed and was just about to leave the kitchen when he saw how Ori trembled a little.

Dwalin took a few steps closer to him and was about to reach his hand to touch Ori’s face, but stopped. No more than a half hour ago he was moving bleeding bodies with Bombur, Bifur and Gloin. He wouldn’t touch Ori with those death-dirtied hands. 

“Don’t worry too much lad.”, Dwalin said before leaving Ori alone in the kitchen.

 

 

 

“I take that it was an unusually easy fight?”, Oin stated as he was treating Thorin’s slightly bruised arm. 

“Yeah. Those guys didn’t use any guns or weapons, just their fists. If our Burglar had been more careful then the whole-“

Thorin stopped speaking when he remembered Bilbo. After a long sigh he asked how mister Baggins was feeling.

“He’s all fine, no any permanent injuries. I gave him some medicines, he will be sleeping for a while. A good rest is the only thing he needs right now. “

Thorin nodded. He wasn’t going to show it, but he was very, very relieved to hear that Bilbo was safe and okay now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How long had he slept?

Probably forever. At least his head felt like he had. 

 

His head was spinning as he tried to get up. The room was dark, curtains covered the windows. Bilbo didn’t want to think what clock was, after all, it had been almost morning when he was put in sleep by Oin. 

Then all of sudden, somebody opened the door.

“So you’re awake?”

“Ye-yeah...”

Had it been anybody else but Thorin, Bilbo would have been able to relax even a bit. But he wasn’t still in a warm terms with his boss.

“Oin told me that you would wake up soon… I just came to check…”

“Ye-yes… I just got up…”

“Want me to get Oin here?”

“No..! No need to do that, I feel just fine… Thank you.”

An awkward silent followed their short conversation. 

“Oh right..! The boxes in that car-“, Bilbo remembered but Thorin interrupted him.

“Yes, we took them with us. They contained illegal guns, very dangerous ones. Did you know anything about them?”

“Only that they were for Smaug… And he had never ordered anything like them before and- ouch..!” 

Bilbo’s head was still hurting. He pressed his forehead against his palms and didn’t notice how Thorin was ready to come and catch him if he would faint.

“No need to speak about it now, you can tell about the details tomorrow. Just tell me; did you know when Smaug was supposed to come and collect the shipment?”

“Tomorrow night, probably from the place where you found us. He would send one of his henchmen to do that, like always …”

“You mean tonight or Wednesday night?”

“I don’t… I mean Tuesday night.”

“Now is Tuesday night.”

“What?! How long I have slept?!”

Bilbo was shocked to hear that he had been sleeping for a whole day..! 

“Oh no.. I’m.. I am so, so sorry..!”

“It’s okay. Oin gave you a pretty big amount of that stuff.”

Right, Bilbo had been drugged. But now it was his fault that Thorin didn’t get this information any sooner…

“I’ll send Oin here anyway. And Bombur, he will bring you something to eat. We will discuss about everything tomorrow.”

“Tho- I mean, mister Durin…”, Bilbo stopped Thorin when he was about to leave the room.

“Thank you… You… You didn’t let that guy to crash my head when…”

Thorin looked a little bit troubled. He turned his eyes away from Bilbo.

“Don’t mention it. Others would have been very gross with me if I had let you die.”

“But you wouldn’t care, right..?”, Bilbo wanted to ask, but shut his mouth.

“And those three guys..?”

“All dead.”

“Oh, ri-right…”, Bilbo knew that those men were probably more like a bad guys. But still, he wasn’t feeling too well when he thought that he has something to do with three murders. But the worst thing was that he didn’t feel so bad as he would have thought. 

“I must say that getting those guns before Smaug is a great step closer to his desolation, but the way you did the job was unnecessary complicated and a bit too dangerous. I also would have appreciated if you would mind to tell me next time what are you going to do, instead just messing around with my nephews. You should know that I’m not going to turn a blind eye if something like this is going to happen again.”

Without hearing Bilbo’s answer Thorin left the room. 

Great. Bilbo knew that he could have done better, he really would. But here he was, thinking that maybe Thorin didn’t hate him so much after all. But no, Thorin really only tolerated him because he hated Smaug so much. Thorin really would kill him if he finds out that Bilbo really isn’t a real burglar..!  
Bilbo didn’t need Thorin to like him like everyone else seemed to do, but if only he would not dislike Bilbo so much. Then Bilbo would at least breathe freely when they were in the same room.

 

Oh if only, if only Bilbo had knew how inside of his office Thorin now was almost banning his head on the table, cursing himself for saying all those things instead of the “I’m glad that you’re fine”-sentence what he was meant to. 

 

Why did he even care so much?


	13. Fooled us all

Even after Thorin’s words, everybody else treated Bilbo like a hero. They didn’t care how dangerous the situation they got into was, they only thought how much closer to Smaug it brought them. The only thing what was worrying them all was that now Smaug’s suspicions must have awakened. After all, they had taken the guns what were supposed to be delivered to him. But then again, maybe Smaug would be now forced to step out of his hide and someday he would have to show himself. 

They all also praised how very convincing Bilbo had been when he acted to be one of Smaug’s men.

“You fooled us all once again Bilbo!”, Bombur laughed when they were sitting at the lunch table.

“Everyone else but Thorin, actually.”, Gloin corrected.

“That’s true! When I was about to throw an another insult on you he kicked me to my side!”, Kili added.

“Okay, that’s enough everybody, thank you..! But I really should have been more careful, you know. Somebody could have got hurt…”, Bilbo blushed, but nobody seemed to hear him.

“Nah, in this job you get those kind of scratches all the time..!”

After Bofur’s comment Thorin stepped in the kitchen. Everybody went silent for a moment; they knew how dense Thorin was when it came to thanking people. And they could all just guess what kinds of things their boss had blurted out to Bilbo last night. After all, Bilbo had looked very depressed when Oin and Bombur (and all the other uninvited family members) came to see and feed him last night.

But they didn’t get to enjoy Thorin’s presence long. Soon his telephone was ringing, and as he answered it he gestured Dwalin and Balin to follow him.

“Wonder who that was.”, Gloin stated as he stuffed more food in his mouth.

“Well at least it’s not our mom… Otherwise he wouldn’t want to take those two with him…”, Kili breath out.

“Your mom..?”, Bilbo wondered. Nobody had said so, but Bilbo automatically assumed that Fili and Kili’s parents were death. But their situation seemed to a whole lot different than Bilbo’s and Frodo’s.

“Yeah… She’s not so thrilled about us to helping Thorin to defeat Smaug. She’s afraid that this job is too dangerous for us, and even for Thorin.”, Fili explained and told also that on the day when Bilbo was first taken to Durin’s house Thorin was busy because he was having an argument with his older sister over this matter.

Then Bofur leaned closer to Bilbo and continued:

“You know, Thorin’s sister Dis used to live here too. But she soon lost her temper, living with messy and loud guys and all. She supports Thorin, but isn’t too happy that Fili and Kili are willing to follow their uncle’s footsteps. After all, they are her babies..!”

“I’m not a baby! Mother is just a worrywart!”, Kili yelled back.

“Well she has every right to be one!”, Bilbo stepped in the conversation.

“I would worry myself sick if my nephew would- Oh my god!”

“What is it lad?”, Bofur got worried when Bilbo suddenly stood up and went very pale.

“My nephew! I haven’t called him for days! And I used to call him every day!”

Bilbo’s telephone was taken from him when he moved in Durin’s household. The reason was of course that they didn't want that Bilbo was to leak any information from the house. He had forgot to plead his phone back when Balin started to fill him up with stories of theirs and Thorin’s life before Smaug. 

“If you would like to, I could let you call your nephew, mister Baggins. Of course only if you let me listen the whole conversation. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but mister Durin might not like it if we let you make any calls on your own…”, Ori suggested and after thanking the youngest boy for who knows how many times Bilbo and Ori left the kitchen to make that phone call.

“Your nephew doesn’t know your double life?”, Ori asked as they entered in his room.

“What..? Oh yeah, I mean no, he doesn’t. I don’t want to make him worry.”, Bilbo lied. Well, actually he didn’t, since Bilbo didn’t had a double life before last week.

“I understand. Dealing with Mafiosos can be really dangerous sometimes.”, Ori smiled as he gave Bilbo his phone.

At that point Bilbo would have liked to point out that Durin’s family really didn’t fit the image of hard boiled Mafioso-family what Bilbo had seen in movies. On the contrariwise, they seemed to be very laidback and happy fellows. All expect Thorin, of course. But Bilbo’s worry over Frodo was so big at that time that he thought that it was better to think these things later.

It took a while but finally Frodo answered.

“Hello..!”

“Frodo! It’s me! How are you?”

“Uncle Bilbo! I’m fine, of course! I’m sorry I haven’t called you for days!”

“It’s alright, I haven’t call either… So, how’s studying?”

“Studying..? Oh yeah, fine..! Oh, wait a minute…”

Frodo went silent for a moment. Bilbo could hear that his nephew was talking to someone else, but couldn’t make out any words. 

Then, Frodo finally lifted the phone back on his ear, and Bilbo could overhear the following words:

“Thank you, Aragorn..!”

Aragorn..? Wasn’t that the name of that boy from Frodo’s school, the one who had made Frodo so sad when he last returned home for a holiday? Frodo was reluctant to tell Bilbo what that Aragorn had done, but Bilbo knew that Frodo wouldn’t be upset over nothing.

“Frodo! Is Aragorn with you and Sam there?”

“What? Oh right, I’m at Aragon’s place now, Sam is busy with his girlfriend. Don’t worry, everything’s fine!”

“Frodo, I don’t like it if you’re alone with him there..!”

“Please uncle! I’m all fine! We have been studying if that’s what you worry about!”

“Frodo, listen! I just don’t want you to get hu-“

“I know I know… I’m sorry but we’re a bit busy right now, I’ll call you again next week. I love you uncle, bye bye!”

Bilbo was flabbergasted. Frodo, his little Frodo was alone with a boy… Or a man he had never met..! Well, maybe he had seen that Aragorn when he rushed to pack is things one week ago, but Bilbo was far too busy to notice him…

“Mister Baggins, is everything all right?”, Ori worried.

“I don’t know… Frodo, my nephew… He is staying with someone I’m not too sure about…”, Bilbo sighed and gave his phone back to Ori.

“So you don’t like that someone?”

Bilbo shook his head.

“I don’t know him, that’s the problem. I’m a bit of a afraid that Frodo might be… Well, Frodo might like him…”

Ori froze. Mister Baggins was a great man. If he thought that two men together was wrong, Ori would feel very bad, since he himself might be in… 

“I mean, I’m happy if he is. I don’t care whenever he is happy with a man or with a woman, as long as he is… But that Aragorn guy… I’m afraid that he will only hurt Frodo…”

Ori let out a sigh of relieve. So mister Baggins wasn’t against of these kinds of things, that was good to know. 

“Why do you think that he would hurt your nephew? If I may ask that, mister Baggins…”

“Well one night when Frodo came home I could see that he had been crying… He didn’t tell me what had upset him, but when I asked that from his friend Sam he told me that Frodo was probably crying over Aragorn… Sam also said that Aragorn is some sort of a ladies man… I don’t trust that kind of guy, besides he is much older than Frodo…”

Ori stiffened again.

“How… How much older..?”, he asked, voice trembling.

“Frodo is sixteen, Aragorn is a little over twenty. He is studying in the same school building as Frodo, but in the university part of it…”

Bilbo was completely unaware what his words had meant for little Ori. Bilbo apologized that he had made Ori to listen his worries and left him alone in the room.

 

Ori swallowed and sunk to sit on his bed. Ori had never thought that Dwalin was too old for him, he himself was too young for Dwalin. How come he had never thought that Dwalin surely wasn’t interested about a child like Ori was… Well, Ori wasn’t a child anymore, he was 18! But everybody, especially his big brother Dori treated him like a one. But Ori was an adult now, he just needed to find a way to prove that to everybody.

 

And a chance to prove that became much faster than he would ever thought; without knocking Nori opened the door and told Ori to get ready for a meeting. 

“It seems that we all are required in the next fight..!”


	14. Only a burden

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I noticed that I got so much kudos after that latest chapter, thank you all very much! (sorry for the short chapter, next one will be longer!)

Bilbo didn’t know how, but with his contacts Thorin had been able to find out who was that Smaug’s henchman who was supposed to come and collect those weapons for him last night.

“If mister Baggins would have slept even an hour more, we wouldn’t have been able to find out who that man was.”, Thorin stated, doing it so that it sounded like it had been Bilbo’s fault for sleeping so long because of the drug Oin gave him.

Bilbo heard that it was pretty unusual for Thorin to invite all of them into meetings. Usually Thorin didn’t let his nephews, especially Kili, and Ori to participate, because of their young age. But this was the first time when he allowed anyone from outside of his family and friends to take a part in these meetings. After all, Thorin still didn’t count Bilbo as a family member. 

“We now know for pretty sure where that guy is lodging. Frerin’s men followed him, but it would have been too risky to get too close.”

Before Bilbo had time to ask Bofur whispered that Frerin was Thorin’s brother. Later Bilbo heard that Frerin wasn’t living under the same roof with Thorin ‘cause even though the brothers cared about each other, one would kill another if they were forced to be together 24/7. When Bilbo had awakened and told Thorin about Smaug’s plan to get the guns, Thorin had quickly called Frerin who send some spies to the place they had been fighting and followed Smaug’s henchman who was forced to leave empty handed. 

“We don’t have any time to waste. Tomorrow we all will go to the place where that henchman left. I’m sure that he’s not there alone; we don’t know what is going to be ahead of us. So I need every single one of you, my friends. Frerin isn’t willing to put his men in that kind of danger, and I wouldn’t even trust anybody else but you guys. This is our first serious battle against Smaug’s men. I need good fighters, as well our doctor and computer expert. And if I can trust Gandalf’s words, I think I need that burglar too…”

Bilbo didn’t like the way how Thorin mentioned him in his speech, which Thorin had spoken so royally. What Bilbo also didn’t like was that now he was actually heading into his doom; this wasn’t a game anymore. Not any stupid whimsy made up by Fili and Kili. No, Thorin had created this plan, this was serious..!

“Rest well. We need all our strength tomorrow.”

After saying that Thorin ended the meeting. Bilbo was shaking, worrying what tomorrow would bring. But all the others were… What, Bilbo couldn’t believe it. They were cheering..! They all could die tomorrow, but they were all cheering like it was somebody’s birthday! Bilbo would never get these guys, really…

But what Bilbo didn’t know was that even though every single one of them was cheering at that time, and they truly were excited for upcoming adventures, they all were also very worried. In some circles it just wasn’t proper to show that worry and fear, and Thorin’s company was one of them. And some of those worries were bigger than others…

 

 

 

\---------------------------------------

 

 

As the night sky appeared, Dwalin knocked on Thorin’s door. 

“I’m afraid that I already know why you’re here…”, Thorin sighed as he let Dwalin in.

“Do we really need Ori tomorrow?”, Dwalin asked, even though he knew that Thorin had made up his mind.

“I know that Ori is young, but he is the only one who has the ability to break codes and turn off the alarms. Like I said, we don’t know what’s ahead of us tomorrow.”

“But he is too young…”

“He is an adult now. I’m not forcing him to come, he himself agreed to this.”

Dwalin couldn’t disagree. He hung his head low and it was unusual for Thorin to see his friend like this.

“You know you’re taking this heavier than Nori and Dori. Even they understand that I’m not letting anything hurt Ori if we end up in a battle situation. He will be plenty of safe when there is his two big brothers and strong fighter like you by his side.”, Thorin tried to comfort Dwalin.

“You mean you would let me to protect him first in any situation?”

“Of course.”, Thorin promised.

“Now, go to sleep. You need to rest well so you could be there for Ori if he needs you.”

Dwalin nodded his thanks to Thorin and was just about to leave when something came to his mind.

“What about our burglar? He doesn’t know how to fight either.”

“Don’t you worry about him. I can take care of him so you could be at ease.”

“Hmm… Sure you will, my friend.”, Dwalin smirked and left the room before Thorin had a chance to yell back at him for suggesting something like that.

 

“Right now that burglar is only a burden… Can’t even defend himself in a fight..!” Thorin hissed between his teeth. He felt how something was boiling inside of him, a feeling similar to anger but was much more bittersweet than that. And as he tried to get some sleep, he fought to keep his thoughts in tomorrow, in his hate for Smaug, in a probably up-coming fight. He tried to think of anything expect their burglar…

 

 

 

He failed.


	15. If only he would know it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is kind of a special chapter, telling you something about Dwalin's and Ori's past.We will go back to the main story in the next chapter :>

Dwalin had known Ori from the start.

 

The first time he saw Ori the other one had been just a little baby. He was happy about that though; Ori didn’t know a life without Dwalin. And if Dwalin was to have his will, Ori would never know how it feels to live without him. Never.

 

It all started eighteen years ago. Dwalin was just seventeen back then, had a Mohawk and a few silly looking tattoos, according to his big brother Balin.

The brothers lived with Durin family, always had. Their family and Durin’s were always been so very close, so Dwalin was treated like a brother by Thorin, Dis and Frerin. Well, actually he was treated better than a brother, since the siblings were pretty much fighting all the time with each other, but never with Dwalin. Balin in turn was so much older than others, fifteen years older than Dwalin and Thorin actually, so he was more like a father figure to them.

With them lived also Dwalin and Balin’s two cousins, Oin and Gloin. Oin was close to Balin’s age and they hanged out pretty much. Gloin was a great friend with Thorin and others too, but didn’t spend too much time with them after he found himself a girlfriend. And with this girlfriend they already had a son named Gimli, so being a teenage father kept Gloin rather busy. But when Thorin’s family became involved with mafia-business, Gloin saw that it was best for his family to live separately and visit them only when things weren’t too hectic; he didn’t want to put his dear wife and son in danger.

A that time Thorin’s older sister Dis was also married and had two kids; Fili and Kili. Kili was just two years old, a real hurricane ever since he learned how to walk. Fili was five, and even though he had been almost as bad as Kili before, after his brothers birth Fili took the role of a protective big brother and was a little calmer now. A little…

So babysitting was something that took almost all the free time Dwalin and Thorin had. Well, they both always found time for their hobby, fighting skill training and shooting. That was something what their whole family trained, just too keep themselves fit. Back then they had no idea how those skills were to save their lives in future over and over again.

Thorin didn’t always show it, but he loved his nephews. Even if they were little monsters, Thorin loved and will always love them. And so did Dwalin. Fili and Kili were part of his family. But if Dwalin was honest, he really didn’t like children. He wouldn’t like to have one of his own, and he wouldn’t spend time with them if he hadn’t been forced to. If Fili and Kili weren’t his family and dear to him, there was absolutely no way that he would ever, ever want to spend time with those hooligans.

 

But then something changed.

 

One day, a man over his twenties came to Durin’s household wanting to work for them. Thorin’s grandfather Thror pitied him when the man told him that he had two younger brothers, one in Thorin’s and Dwalin’s age and the other one was just a little baby. Their parent’s had died in an accident, and the eldest brother Dori needed money so he could raise his youngest brother Ori and keep his other brother Nori away from stealing. Thror didn’t only give Dori a job, but he let also his little family to move in their big house.

Dori was a little stiff, but he soon made great friends with Balin and Oin, and also with the other little family who was close to the Durin's and worked for them, Bofur, Bombur and Bifur. Nori also started to work with these three said fellows and made friends easily with everyone.

At first Dwalin had thought that it would be troublesome to have another baby in the house, even if raising him was on Dori and Nori’s responsibility. But Ori was unusually good child. And in Dwalin’s eyes unusually cute too; he wasn’t covered in snot all the time and didn’t scream till he looked more like a red tomato, like Fili and Kili had done when they were younger, and actually still did… And as Ori grew older, he still remained as a well behaving and quiet child.

 

Then happened the tragedy that Balin had told to Bilbo; Thror lost his business and arkenstone to Smaug, borrowed money from wrong kinds of people and died by the hand of Azog, whom Thorin later killed.

When Thorin started to make plans to raise his family and destroy Smaug, Dwalin, Balin, Oin and Gloin were ready to fight next to him. The brothers Bifur and Bombur and their cousin Bifur did the same. Dori and Nori didn’t hesitate for helping too; they owned so much for the Durin’s family. And even though it would be a little difficult to raise a little child in a middle of all that blackmailing and game playing with criminals so they could destroy other criminals, everybody agreed to help brothers with little Ori, like they also helped Dis to raise Kili and Fili.

Unlike Fili and Kili, Ori didn’t need so much any “raising”. His brothers pampered and sheltered him, but the boy wasn’t arrogant at all. That’s why Ori was almost invisible for all the others expect for his brothers. Since they thought that Fili and Kili were a little bit too harsh playmates, Ori spent his alone time by drawing, reading and as he grow up others notices how gifted the boy was with technology.

But even though Ori was an easy child, there was a one thing that he was reluctant to obey; eating salad.

Dwalin always trained late, so he wasn’t often there eating with others. And if he was, he would gobble up his portion and leave. That’s why he had never seen how Ori kept his mouth shut as Dori tried in every way to make him eat those green leafs.

 

Once when Dwalin was just finishing off his training for the day, he saw how a five year old Ori was sitting on a big rock, hugging his knees and sulking.

 

“Are you okay, little one?” Dwalin asked and sat next to Ori. It wasn’t the first time they talked, of course. Dwalin had teach Ori how to spell few letters, had lifted Ori up if he wanted some book from the top shelf. Yes, Ori had been keen into books in such early age, even if he still couldn’t read very well.

“I… Big brother Dori wants me to eat that... that green thing…” Ori said the last words voice full of disgustingness. That amused Dwalin a little.

“You mean, salad, right?”

“Yuk..!”

Dwalin couldn’t help but laugh now.

“But little one, you do know that it’s unhealthy to leave that salad on your plate?”

Then Ori lifted his big eyes to meet Dwalin’s and stated so seriously:

“As well it is unhealthy when you eat too fast and skip meals, mister Dwalin.”

If any other child had said that to him Dwalin would have laughed again. And if it had been any adult Dwalin wouldn’t have cared. But now he only stared Ori and the little boy’s serious gaze.

“Yeah… I suppose it is.”

Then Ori suddenly smiled. He had won an argument against an adult, of course he was happy.

“But why don’t you like salad? I once heard how Bombur was telling Fili and Kili how you ate all your beans. And even I don’t like beans so much.” Dwalin asked, refused to let the little one out of the hook so easily.

Ori didn’t answered, only mumbled something. But Dwalin was sure that he already knew the reason why. After all, Ori was so very delicate and an artistic child.

“Is it because you don’t like the color of it..?”

Ori was flabbergasted. He didn’t think that anybody would ever understand.

“I don’t like green food… Not salad or spinach or cucumber…”

“So you don’t like the color green?” Dwalin confirmed, but was wrong this time.

“Just not on the plate… But I like green otherwise. It looks good on you.”

Well yes, Dwalin often preferred green in his clothes. But he didn’t know how to react when a little child was telling him that the color suited him. He didn’t know why he was so flustered, so he decided to change the topic.

“Hmm… Listen to me, little one, let’s make a deal, shall we? You eat even a little bite of the green foods that your brothers are feeding you, and I promise that I won’t eat so fast or skip too many meals in the future.” Dwalin offered his hand to shake with Ori, and after a little thinking Ori agreed.

“Now, shall we go inside?” Dwalin asked and after Ori’s nod he carried the little boy back to the house. And that evening was the first one when Ori tasted a salad without any forcing.

 

Dori was of course a little bitter when someone else than him or Nori had been able to make Ori taste his salad, and Ori would always try harder in everything when Dwalin was watching, not when his big brothers were there. But they didn’t start to dislike Dwalin for that. Maybe Dwalin was Ori’s hero, but Nori and Dori would always be his brothers. Dwalin didn’t think that he would have ever cared of anybody’s admiration, but he found himself of trying harder too when he knew that Ori was watching or when he knew that somebody was sure to tell Ori how strong Dwalin had been in their latest fight.

 

But then came the time when Dwalin realized that the Ori’s admiration wasn’t all what he wanted from him. Ori was about fifteen back then, still underaged so Dwalin hid his feelings completely. At first he had tried to forget them, destroy those feelings, but all in vain. He couldn’t deny his love for the younger boy, he could just hide it.

And when Ori turned to eighteen Dwalin still didn’t do anything. He couldn’t, he wouldn’t do anything. He didn’t want to ruin Ori’s innocence. Because somehow Ori had remained so innocent, even after living and dealing with Mafiosos his whole life. But Ori’s weapons were his computer skills, which you needed before a fight but not in a battlefield.

  
Ori was sure to hate him if he knew that Dwalin wasn’t acting like a cool hero because he was one, when the real reason was that he just wanted Ori to look at him in awe, wanted those big brown eyes only to look at him. He wasn’t cool or strong, Dwalin was coward and weak when there wasn’t a man enough in him to tell Ori about his feelings and accept the rejection. But no matter how strong he got and how cool he tried to be, he still didn’t want to risk anything that could make those big eyes to never look at him again...

 

 

But Ori had loved Dwalin from the start.

 

When he was a little he didn’t really know what to call that feeling he felt, since it was much stronger than what he felt towards any other person he liked and Ori liked those any other persons a lot. It was something as powerful what he felt towards his brothers, but still very different from it; like it had been more bittersweet. But that feeling didn’t need a name, it only needed to exist and it existed all over him.

Ori didn’t know a life without Dwalin, and he wasn’t going to do anything that would make him know such a miserable form of living. But every year that feeling became much stronger, it gained a name and Ori knew that someday that feeling would flood over. And he would be unable to stop that flood.

 

After all, he loved him. Always had and always will. If only he would know it, if only…


	16. Everyone else are waiting

Morning came too fast for Bilbo. He was still in half-asleep when Fili and Kili rushed him into the car. Bilbo wasn’t too happy to notice that he needed to share that car with Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin and Thorin. Gloin was driving, Thorin sat next to him and was talking on phone with his brother the most of the time, making sure that they were driving in a right direction. 

Bilbo would so much rather sit with Ori, Dwalin, Bifur, Bofur and Bombur. He didn’t know that Frerin’s men had followed Smaug’s man for hours, from town to next town. To sit four hours in backseat listening Fili and Kili’s childish jokes and Gloin’s muttering was somehow so exhausting. This didn’t bother Oin thought, since the man was almost deaf when he turned off his hearing aid. And Thorin, well he was on the phone and he was probably already used to this all. Somehow the only thing that made Bilbo relax a little was to focus on Thorin’s low and steady voice; it was so very self-confided, so very strong and so very calming.

 

“Mister Baggins… Mister Baggins… We’re there, wake up…!”

 

Someone was shaking Bilbo gently, telling him to wake up. A warm big hand was pressed on his shoulder. Bilbo would have never thought that he was ever to see Thorin’s face so close to his when he woke up.

“Tho.. Mister Durin! I’m sorry, I must have fell asleep..!”

“Yes… Well, we must go now… Everyone else are waiting.”

Bilbo stumbled out of the car, surprised how gently Thorin had woke him up. And more surprised he was when he saw where they were: in middle of nowhere. 

There was only trees and very rough looking terrain; rocks and low branches. And even though it was still early, the forest was so thick that the sunlight wasn’t able to shine through the trees. It looked so dark and ominous, like something bad was bound happen there. 

“Umm… Are you sure that that henchman is living in somewhere there..?”, Bilbo asked carefully. He couldn’t see anything what looked like a Mafiosos’ hideout.

“Haha, of course not!”, Bofur laughed and patted Bilbo’s back.

“But we just can’t go any further with cars. We have to walk now..!”

“Ho-how long we have to walk?”, Bilbo stuttered, terrified when he watched those rocks; do they really have to climb them up?!

“We don’t know. For so long that we find where that henchman and his possibly group are lodging. Maybe for a few hours. They would be stupid if they were staying so near of the road.”

 

Great. Well, complaining wouldn’t make this any easier. Bilbo would do his best to keep up with others with his short legs.

 

“Are you okay Bilbo?”

That was the most common praise in their whole search. Bilbo wasn’t slow, actually. Others were just more used to walk long trips on an uneven ground. 

“I’m fine, I’m fine.”, was Bilbo’s answer every time he heard that question. But the truth was that after every step he felt like he couldn’t take another one anymore. But even though he did a very good job at hiding it, somebody noticed. Somebody, who was leading their group, but still managed to keep his ice-blue eyes on tired Bilbo.

Thorin was just about to tell his men to have a short break when they had climbed up on one high rock where you could see almost the whole forest, when Ori told them to stop.

 

“Stop! My phone found some strange signal..!”

 

Everybody froze. Thorin, Dwalin and Ori’s brothers gathered around their technology expert, and Bilbo had no idea what they were talking about. What signal? Was it a good or a bad thing? Apparently a bad thing, because Thorin was frowning. 

 

But Bilbo was going to use this break and he sat down to rest his feet. He stared the enormous forest in front of him and sighed; maybe if he wasn’t there with thirteen Mafiosos trying to catch some criminals he could actually enjoy this view. 

He inhaled some fresh forest air and then let his head fall down. And that was when he saw something very curious on the ground.

 

A ring.

 

Bilbo picked it up and took a closer look of it. It was very ordinary, pretty ring, probably meant for a man judging by its size. And even though he had seen that some men from his company wore rings and some other jewelry, Bilbo didn’t think that the ring had dropped from anybody of his companion. 

 

But then Thorin’s sudden yell tore Bilbo away from his thoughts.

 

“It must be a trap..! Everyone, we have to-“

 

But none of them had too much time to think. All of sudden, a huge group of men had circled them and attacked.

No one was able to react fast enough. Nobody had time to shoot even once, when their hands were tied up and even though they were struggling as much as they could they couldn’t win against those men.

 

It all happened too fast. 

Bilbo was also trying to keep one of those men away from him, kicking and struggling as much as he could. He screamed, but nobody was able to hear him among the other screams and noises. And so nobody saw how Bilbo and the man he was fighting with were backing closer to edge of the rock, and eventually fell down from it into the dark forest.


	17. Generous person

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for comments, kudos, bookmarks and views!  
> I'm currently looking for someone to beta this story, so message me if you're interested to do the job!

“Well well, look what we got! A group of beardy men, how interesting!” 

An ugly looking man was staring Thorin’s messy group as they were brought in front of him. 

 

After they had been captured and their guns had been taken from them, those men forced them to move forward and eventually walk into the old wooden, pretty harmless looking weary mansion where their leader was waiting for them. But the man wasn’t Smaug, no. Thorin would never forget the face of that traitor. This guy here was just one of those little gang bosses who worked under Smaug, but who probably didn’t know much of his employer, like those three big stupid fellows they had killed few days ago. 

“My spies spot you guys from the far already. Mind telling me what a group of an armed men are doing near my little chalet? I bet you guys know something about that shipment I was supposed to get and send forward couple days ago.”

 

Of course, none of Thorin’s men was willing to answer him. But that didn’t came as surprise for the gangsters boss. 

 

“Seems like I must make you guys talk, that’s fine to me. It’s more amusing that way anyway…!”, the man and his gang laughed. 

“Bring that red haired skinny guy forward and cut off his fingers one by one..! He looks like he will break easily..! And after that you can have a little more fun with him, in a way you prefer..!”, the man pointed at Ori and smiled wickedly. 

And again the things were happening too, way too fast. Before that man had even finished his speech, two guys had taken a hold of Ori’s arms and the third one was approaching him with a sharp knife. Dori and Nori were too far away, no matter how much they struggled they wouldn’t be there to safe their little brother on time. 

But before that knife touched Ori’s skin, Dwalin had break free from the hold of his captors, rushed forward and tugged Ori behind his back, ready to protect him in every needed way. And all of sudden there were dozens of guns pointed at Dwalin, ready to shoot him dead in a blink of an eye.

 

“Stop! I’ll talk!”

 

The boss told his men not to shoot when Thorin struggled forward to meet that gangster eye to eye. That wicked grin came back as the man noticed who he had actually captured.

“Oh my, isn’t that the great Thorin Oakenshield himself..!”, the man used the name in which Thorin was known for his enemies, but story behind that name is to be told some other time.

“What a coincidence! I know someone who is willing to pay a lot from that head of yours!”, the man laughed and rubbed his hands together.

“And may I ask who is so generous person?”, Thorin asked mockingly.

“What, you haven’t already forget your dear friend Azog, have you?”

Thorin frowned. He thought that he would never have to hear that name ever again in these kinds of situations.

“Azog is dead! I killed him!”, Thorin stated and stood as tall as he could.

“Dead? Oh no, he’s very much alive and is eager to meet you. He is actually on his way here right now for some other businesses, but I bet that he will hurry when he hears that you would be here too..!”, the man sneered and told one of his subordinate to send a message to Azog right away. 

Thorin was sure that the man in front of him only wanted to provoke him more: Azog wasn’t alive, Thorin was sure of that. Besides, now he needed only to worry how he and his men would be able to escape from this mess. Those barbarians had thrown their guns in a one corner, but how to get them from there enough fast? Now that shadow-like burglar would be needed, where is he..?

Thorin looked over his shoulder, but didn’t see Bilbo anywhere near. And suddenly it hit him that maybe mister Baggins had used his chance and run away. Damn, he knew that they couldn’t trust that man..!  
But somehow, Thorin didn’t know why, he was also a bit relieved to know that Bilbo was probably somewhere safe now.

But Thorin had no idea what had happened to Bilbo when they were captured. As well he had no idea that right now Kili noticed how he still got his short sharp pocketknife in his jacket’s pocket. And his mother had always complained about Kili’s bad habit for stuffing his clothes full of guns and knives..! 

Kili nodded a little towards his brother who followed Kili’s eyes to his waist. It didn’t take long for Fili to guess his little brothers thoughts. The brothers knew that they would have to be quick, one wrong move and they could get them all killed.

At first Fili gathered all the attention on himself by starting to struggle and shouting insults on that “fat and coward” gang boss. Then Kili was able to shake off the guys who were holding his arms and quickly pulled out his knife and stabbed with it a few guys who were holding Fili. Then Bifur who was standing closest the guns understood what the young lads were after and in middle of the all confusion he struggled himself free and took the closest gun and started to shoot. Then everyone else had started to struggle too, snatching guns what Bifur kicked towards them and not a few seconds later the whole mansion was filled with sounds of violent gun shooting.

This time Thorin’s men were faster, and when their enemies realized that they were going to lose, many of them tried to escape with their boss. But Thorin wasn’t going to allow that.

 

“After them! Don’t let a single one to live!”

 

That man worked for Smaug. And if he or any of his men was to live, Smaug would surely hear that Thorin was after him and had already got pretty close too. So no witness was to be left alive. 

And so Thorin’s men started to separate, gathered in a small groups they chased their enemies until they had killed them all.


	18. Kill and bury it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you all for comments, kudos, bookmarks and views! I appreciate every single one of them!

Oh no..! Had he fell asleep again..?! Bilbo couldn’t believe it! Two weeks ago he didn’t had the habit of falling in sleep or faint in a middle of the day! Thorin would be gross with him for sure!

 

But then Bilbo realized that this time he wasn’t lying on a bed or sitting in a car. 

 

He was lying on a dead body. 

 

Bilbo let out a loud yelp and jumped away from the body. It was one of those men who had attacked them, who had fell with Bilbo over the edge. Bilbo checked his own condition, and was relieved to see that he only got a few bruises and sore head. He was able to move freely, so he hadn’t broken any bones. That was a real miracle, maybe the luck was on his side after all..!

Or maybe he had spoken too early. Bilbo could hear how someone was moving closer and mumbled something. Bilbo was pretty sure that it wasn’t anyone from his companion, so he quickly hid behind a few large trees. Bilbo listened as the voice came closer. Someone was talking with a low, hoarse voice.

“What a lucky, lucky day we have! Let’s see does it have any money, shall we?!”

Bilbo didn’t look, but apparently there were two persons near the body now. Or so he assumed from the way that the voice was speaking. But never did he hear the voice of the other person.

“No! No, no, no!! No money, not even a penny! We have to hunt again, hunt and eat what we catch..! We’re so unlucky precious, so unlucky!”

Bilbo swallowed. The curiosity was soon too much for him and he peeked between the trees to see who those two persons were.

But he could only see that dead body. 

“Where did they go..?”, he whispered to himself, trying to look further if there would be any signs of anyone.

 

“We’re right here, but who you are?”

 

Bilbo turned around and glued his back against the tree. A man, or rather a creature in front of him made him go all pale.

The man was bald and short, shorter than Bilbo. He had very bad posture, and he was so very skinny that his head looked enormous on his tiny shoulders. He was only wearing scruffy old jeans, and so Bilbo could see every bone in his body, like there was no flesh inside of him. 

The man stared Bilbo with his big blue eyes and grinned manically. 

“Does it got any money for ussssshhh, precious?” , the man hissed and suddenly jumped closer to Bilbo. 

“What..?! I-I d-don’t have any mo-money with me, i-if that’s what y-you m-mean..!”, Bilbo trembled and tried to back away from that creature.

Then all of sudden the look on that man’s face changed from curiosity to hatred. He started to jump up and down, rolled on the ground, cursed and yelled.

“No, no, no, no!!! Of course it doesn’t have any one money you fool! It’s gonna catch us, it’s gonna put us away precious! It’s gonna call the police and we will be doomed!”

Bilbo was in a shock. The man was as crazy as he looked..! 

“Please, please! Don’t call the cops, we can’t live behind the bars, please!”, the man started to plead and crawled closer to Bilbo, now almost crying.

“No!”, the man yelled again, changing from desperate to maniac again.

“We can’t trust it! We must kill it, kill and bury it so it won’t talk!”

“No!”, Bilbo screamed. He was so scared that he couldn’t move his legs anymore.

“I’m not gonna call the police! Actually, I’m a burglar by myself, I couldn’t call even if I wanted to! I don’t even have my telephone with me!”

Bilbo was ready to say anything that might save his life. The man calmed down and started to laugh. 

“Yesssh, oh yesshh! It’s not gonna call, not to police, not to anybody!”

Then the man turned the big, curious eyes back to Bilbo and looked him like he had never seen a human being before. 

“But does it have a name, precious?”

“Bi-Bilbo…. Bilbo Baggins…”, Bilbo stuttered, and then he mentally slapped himself on the head for telling his real name.

“Bagginsss? We have never heard of Baggins, right precious?”

“A-and what’s your name..?”, Bilbo asked, trying to keep those bony arms away from him. And suddenly the creature looked so sad and his eyes filled with tears.

“We don’t remember, we don’t! But somebody in prison called us Gollum, right precious?”

Bilbo didn’t know what good it was for him to know the name of that man. He just wanted to run away. That Gollum guy was surely crazy enough to kill Bilbo out of the whim if Bilbo angered him in any way.

“What is Baggins doing here, is it alone?”, Gollum was smirking again, and Bilbo knew that it was the best to lie.

“Ye-yes I am… I was just… Umm… Walking, and then I fell…”

“It’s lying! We heard how they were fighting, we heard! We came to look and we saw the body, Baggins killed him!”

“No! I didn’t kill him, it was an accident!”, Bilbo swore. Accusing him from a murder made him feel so sick and scared.

“We can’t trust it! Baggins will kill us too, Baggins is a murderer! We will have to kill it first before it kills us, right preciousssshhh?” 

Bilbo should have started to run right then, but hearing somebody calling him a murderer shocked him even more, and as he tried to catch his breath he watched how Gollum was now once again laughing and patted his jeans pocket. 

Then all of sudden, he went silent.

“Where..?! Where is it, where is it precious?!!!”

Gollum started to run back and forth, banged the ground and scratched himself with his bitten nails. Bilbo couldn’t understand what had angered the creature now.

“We lost it! We lost it! Oh my preciousssssssshhhh!!!”, Gollum cried miserably. 

Bilbo knew that he couldn’t waste any more time. He straightened himself up, trying to escape without Gollum noticing him. 

But then Gollum slowly lifted his furious gaze to Bilbo and hissed between his teeth.

“A burglar… Baggins took it from us…!”

Bilbo was sure that no matter what he would say now, Gollum wouldn’t believe him. The look in Gollum’s eyes was murderous; if Bilbo was gonna run, he would have to run now..!

 

He wouldn’t have believed it, but Bilbo was much faster than he himself thought. He could hear how Gollum was following him, screaming miserably behind him. It was another miracle for him that day to get away from that murderer. Yeah, Bilbo didn’t know that but Gollum had killed before. And he would kill again if someone was trying to separate him from his precious.

Gollum was usually fast, but the pain it felt from losing his treasure and the hunger in his stomach made him very weak, and soon he lost Bilbo from his sigh. He broke on tears, and Bilbo could hear his last scream echoing in the whole forest.

 

“Bagginsssshhh!!!!!”

 

But even when Bilbo was sure that Gollum wasn’t following him anymore, he couldn’t stop running. It was like he had forgotten how to stop. He just zigzag through the trees, jumped over the stumps not knowing where he was heading in that dark thick forest. 

But then he tripped and fell on the ground. He laid there on his stomach, panting and slowly catching his breath. Then he heard footsteps and quickly he stood up, ready to run again but stopped. A familiar figure was staring at him, eyes round from the disbelief.

 

“Mister Baggins..?!”

 

“Thorin!”


	19. Long and painful second

“After them! Don’t let a single one to live!”

Thorin didn’t need to tell them that twice. His men separated into a small groups and started to chase their enemies. 

One group, Bofur, Bombur and Nori decided to kill all the guys who were trying to hide inside of the house.   
Dori, Balin and Gloin ran outside in a one group, Bifur went alone after a few scared fellows.  
Fili and Kili loved this hide and seek and the kill game and with Oin they went to chase a small group of men. 

Thorin alone started to run after the big boss. Dwalin also run out from the house, shooting every single one of those slimes that he saw. He was sharp, but even he didn’t notice how one of those men has sneaked behind his back and loaded his gun.

“Mister Dwalin!”

Dwalin turned around and saw how a single bullet killed the man who was about to shoot him. Then his eyes met Ori’s, who held one of Dwalin’s guns. 

Dwalin had been sure that he saw how Nori and Dori had run to Ori’s aid as soon as the firing started. But he didn’t heard how Ori had pleaded his brothers to let him go and follow Dwalin. The brothers were sure that as long as Dwalin was near their little Ori, everything would be fine.

But Ori and Dwalin didn’t have much time just to stare each other. Dwalin soon spotted few gang members and so he and Ori were running together, shooting the enemies as fast as they could. 

 

\---------------

 

Fili, Kili and Oin were on top of the world when they were running after and shooting their enemies. Well at least Fili and Kili were, Oin felt that he was a little bit too old for this kind of fun.

Actually they were having so much fun that when they had shot the last runaway they noticed that they had run near to the place where their cars had been parked. 

The brothers started to cheer and hugged each other, laughing merrily. Oin just walked back to the cars, wanting to be ready if someone had gotten hurt when all the others arrive. 

When they had celebrated enough, Kili collapsed on the ground and Fili laid his head on Kili’s stomach. They were still chuckling, happy that their plan had worked.

“We did it, we’re alive..!”, Fili breath out and Kili reached his hand to stroke his brothers hair.

“Of course we are, of course we are…”, Kili smiled. 

The brothers went silent for a moment. They listened the blowing wind and Fili inhaled his brother’s scent.

“For a second I thought that I could never do this again…”, Fili sighed and hugged his brother tightly.

“What? You seriously thought that we wouldn’t make it?”

“Only for a second… But it was a terribly long and painful second…”, Fili buried his head on his brothers chest. Kili warped his arms around his brother’s back and closed his eyes.

“Me too… I was afraid too…”

They lied like that for some minutes. They even might have fallen asleep like that, but then a loud shout interrupted their rest.

 

 

\------------

 

 

Dwalin finished the last guy just in time; he only had two bullets more, and Ori probably didn’t had many more left either. 

They had stopped running. Dwalin turned to look Ori who was handing a gun back to him. 

“I… I believe that this belongs to you, mister Dwalin.”, Ori had just finished his line when Dwalin quickly pulled the younger boy into his arms and hugged tightly.

“Are you okay?”

Ori managed to stutter a quiet yes. He wasn’t sure how to react when he was finally in Dwalin’s arms.

“How did you know how to shoot?”, Dwalin asked. 

“I asked Nori to teach me once… He agreed because he knew that maybe someday I would have to defend myself like today…”

“If you wanted to learn how to shoot you should have asked from me. I’m much better at shooting than Nori.”

“I know… But I didn’t want to bother you…”

“You would never bother me, little one.”

Dwalin pushed Ori out from his arms for a moment, took his gun and placed it back to its place in his belt. 

“You are an excellent shooter, a real natural talent..!”, Dwalin praised him.

Ori smiled and let out a little nervous laugh. Dwalin took Ori’s hands on his owns and stroked his fingers. He would have wanted to kiss every single one of them, making sure that the boy still got them all. He felt the deep hatred against that gang boss. Oh how much he would have liked to kill that bastard by himself! Nobody was ever gonna touch his Ori’s fingers again..! And the hatred became stronger as he remembered what that man suggested his men to do to Ori afterwards.

“I wish that Thorin gives him a super painful death..!”, Dwalin hissed, and Ori knew right away whom he meant.

“I… I’m alright, thanks to you, mister Dwalin.”, Ori reassured him.

“Have you any idea what could have happen to you?”, Dwalin frowned and pulled Ori back to his arms.

Ori couldn’t answer. He knew that they were going to cut his fingers off, but the idea of “having fun” with him in a way they preferred started to slowly hit on him. Still, he was more afraid to lose his fingers, and that thought made him tremble.

“I’m fine…”, he repeated, but Dwalin just shook his head.

“I’ll promise you, that I won’t let ever, never ever a low-life like them to touch you again. I won’t even give them a chance to speak their threats before I kill them all.”, Dwalin vowed, and he felt how Ori nodded his head and warped his arms around Dwalin.

“Thank you, mister Dwalin…”, he whispered.

They stood like that for a moment. Nobody will never know how things might have continued if the forest had stayed silent. But then they heard gun shooting and how someone screamed for a help.


	20. Never on your own

“Mister Baggins..?!”

“Thorin!”

Bilbo couldn’t believe his eyes. Thorin was standing in front of him, not so much believing his eyes either. He had been sure that Bilbo run away and was already far from the forest. 

“What are you doing here? What happened to you?”, Thorin looked Bilbo from head to toes and saw how scruffy their burglar looked. 

“I… I fell from that rock and then everything went black and…”, Bilbo really didn’t know whenever he should tell Thorin about that… That man-like creature he had just managed to lost. Knowing Thorin he wouldn’t probably believe him anyway.

Looking at Bilbo’s condition, Thorin was pretty sure that the man wasn’t lying. Thorin felt a little quilt for assuming that Bilbo had run away as soon as he got the chance to do so. The question now was that why didn’t he do so?

Well, if Thorin had known better, he would know that Bilbo wasn’t a real burglar, that he didn’t know anything from the underworld and its criminals, so he wouldn’t know how to run away from them. He was terrified that Thorin’s men would come after him and kill him if he tried to. Or should I say that he used to be terrified; now he believed that none of Thorin’s men would actually hurt him. He didn’t know what had made him think like that, but now he was mostly pretending to be their very own burglar just because he didn’t know what else he could do. But after he had left his house with Dwalin, Bifur and Bofur he hadn’t considered running away even once.

“Umm… What happened to you, after that fight I mean… And where are the others? Are they okay?!”, Bilbo worried, and seeing that worry in his eyes made Thorin feel more uneasy; like that burglar would actually care what happened to them. As long as Bilbo was to have his salary from his job (which he hadn’t done so greatly till now) he should be happy, Thorin thought. What would it matter to him if some of them had just died?

Still, Thorin found himself from telling Bilbo shortly what had happened to them after Bilbo had fell down from the rock. He spared Bilbo from the details, but boasted a little when he told him how they had managed to escape.

“I believe that every single one of those scums are now death, and my men are pretty much okay. They are all excellent fighters; even Ori knows how to shoot.”

Bilbo was glad to hear that everyone had survived from that sudden attack. Actually he was so relieved that his whole body relaxed, and he wasn’t able to stand anymore: Slowly he sat down on the forest floor, telling Thorin how good it was to know that everyone lived. 

At first Thorin was afraid that Bilbo would faint. But then he saw how Bilbo’s whole body was shaking from the relief and Thorin didn’t understand it anymore; nobody was such a good actor. This little man in front of him really cared about them, and actually cared more than he even himself knew. Then Thorin too sat down in front of Bilbo and couldn’t help but say what he really thought.

“I was sure that you had run away.”

Bilbo lifted his gaze to Thorin, questioningly.

“Why would I run away?”

Thorin almost hated how honestly clueless Bilbo sounded.

“You know, if you were to sell all those information you have from us now, somebody would make you a very rich man.”

“I don’t care about the money…”, Bilbo said, not totally getting where Thorin was aiming.

“Don’t be silly, everybody care about the money!”, Thorin stated, not knowing how greedy he sounded. He only wanted to point out that in this business everyone understood the value of money, not value of a human life.

“I don’t care… I don’t need more money than I already have.”, Bilbo shook his head slowly as he spoke. And once again Thorin didn’t know how to react when Bilbo actually sounded like he was telling the truth. 

And so neither of them spoke for a while. Thorin tried to swallow the new feeling of not knowing something and Bilbo just rubbed his tired legs, trying to think of what he should say next to break the ice. 

Then he felt how a little circle in his trousers pocket was pressing against his thigh.

Oh right; the ring.

Bilbo took it out and watched it again. He had probably stuffed it in his pocket when the surprise-attack had started. He wonder who had ever lost that ring in the first place. It looked pretty worthless, but maybe it beared some sentimental value for somebody.

Thorin noticed it too. He watched for a while when Bilbo played with the ring until he asked where he had got it.

“I found it from that rock where we were earlier, before the attack…”, Bilbo explained quietly.

“It looks worthless. Throw it away.”, Thorin frowned, not seeing any reason for Bilbo to keep such a worthless piece of jewelry. 

Then it really hit on Bilbo. He was suddenly getting so annoyed, and it was his turn again to not to understand Thorin.

“So if something is worthless you think that it should be thrown away?”

Bilbo straightened his back and stared Thorin with narrowed eyes, suddenly being not so afraid of that big bad mafia boss.

“Is money all you care about? Do you really think that having a lot’s of money and valuable things around you makes you happy? Are you so greedy?”

But Thorin was not going to listen that kind of talk, not especially from mister Baggins. When Ori had researched him for Thorin, it was clear that Bilbo had always lived a good life, never having any financial problems.

“Shut up..! You don’t understand what it feels like to lose everything you had and be on your own!”

But that was something what Thorin should have not said. Bilbo just snapped.

“Don’t you tell me that I don’t know how it feels to lose everything! I had just turned twenty when I lost my parents! Any of my relatives, even my closest cousins didn’t want to or couldn’t help me! Because they lived far away! Or because the sorrow was too much for them and they wanted to deny everything! Or because they were bitter, bitter for not getting any of that money that my parents left me! I had all that money, more that I would ever need but I was still all alone!”

Thorin went silent. He was pretty shocked from Bilbo’s sudden outburst. And it wasn’t going to be over any soon. But now Bilbo didn’t looked so angry anymore, the look in his face was more like a sad now.

“And then… And then my dear Frodo came to my life..! He was as alone as I was, scared and lonely… And I didn’t feel so lonely anymore when I was lonely with him… We cried ourselves to sleep together, comforted each other... And… And suddenly I wasn’t lonely anymore, not scared or not even so sad..! Why should I have been, I had Frodo and he had me..! I never stopped missing my parents, but eventually came that day when I realized that I wouldn’t exchange Frodo for a time machine so I could go and change things…Because Frodo is there, he is with me and that is the only thing I could be sure about! I love him more than my own life! I don’t know how it feels to be broke, but don’t you tell me that you lost everything and were on your own! You got them, you got your family and friends on your side, you were never on your own! And neither was I, I had Frodo! And Frodo is the most important and valuable thing for me in the whole world even if he wouldn’t worth of a penny to you!”

Bilbo had been running a lot in that day, but only after his speech he felt like being truly out of the breath. He couldn’t remember when he had last spoken so much at one time with such anger, maybe never. Bilbo buried his head on his hands and panted heavily. When he started to calm down, he noticed that Thorin hadn’t spoke for a while. And even thought Bilbo had only spoke the truth, he started to feel a bit ashamed for his actions; after all, he had only lived his own life, he wouldn’t know how someone else was feeling. 

“Thorin… I mean, mister Durin, I’m so-“

“No…”, Thorin shook his head and stood up as Bilbo was ready to apologize. Bilbo lifted his head and saw how Thorin was hanging his own low. Neither of them had words anymore, and so it was all silent again.

Until they heard a gunshot and a bullet hit Thorin’s leg.

“Thorin?!!”

Bilbo crawled up and hurried towards Thorin who had collapsed on the ground, holding his leg. Then came another shoot behind Bilbo, but this time Thorin was sharp and even with a bleeding leg he was quick enough to pull Bilbo down, and the bullet hit his own shoulder instead of Bilbo’s head. 

Bilbo couldn’t speak, it was a miracle that he even could breathe! Thorin had saved him, and gotten hurt by himself in the progress.

“Are… Are you okay..?”, Thorin panted and tried to stand up. Bilbo saw how much in pain he were, and felt so helpless. 

But there was no time to think. They heard how a group of men was approaching them, and they weren’t too far away anymore. 

“Mister Baggins, run!”, Thorin ordered, but Bilbo was not going to leave Thorin alone to face his death.

“No! Here, lean on my shoulder, hurry!”

Bilbo pulled Thorin up and tried to walk with him as fast as they could. But the ground was uneven and hard to walk even with an uninjured feet. But Bilbo wasn’t going to leave Thorin behind, not even if the other man had just been a greedy and unthankful bastard in his eyes. 

And then Bilbo could see how a Dwalin and Ori were standing among the trees, trying to locate where that gun shooting had come from. 

“Dwalin, Ori! Help!”, Bilbo shouted and instantly the two man spotted them and run towards them.

After a Bilbo’s quick and very confusing explanation Dwalin helped the reluctant Thorin to his back and knew that they couldn’t fight against their new enemies, not with only so few bullets.

“We have to run!”, Dwalin said as the enemy was reaching them.

“We won’t make it on time! They are too close already! You take Thorin and Ori and run, I will keep those guys busy so you will make it back to the cars! I’ll be fine!”, Bilbo insisted.

“No! You fool! You will die!”, Thorin shouted, but Dwalin knew that this was the only way to save their leader and his loved one. He promised that he wouldn’t risk Ori’s life anymore, and Thorin had promised him that he was allowed to protect Ori first in every situation.

“Are you sure you will be fine?”, Dwalin confirmed as Bilbo was hurrying them to go.

“I’ll be fine, I’m the invisible shadow-like burglar after all..! Just go now, run!”

Without caring about Thorin’s arguments, Dwalin carried him and hurried Ori to run as fast as he could. Bilbo watched after them for a while, and then turned to face the enemy.

The truth was that Bilbo had no idea how he was gonna play for time with those men; he only got the small gun that was given to him as a gift from Kili, and he had never shoot with it, not even once. But he knew that he had to do his best, he was Thorin’s only hope now.

Bilbo didn’t know what he had expected when the enemy reached him. But surely he didn’t expect to see a man who was big, bald and scarred, and who’s left arm was made from a steel hook.

“If… If y-you want to p-pass, y-you have t-to go through m-me..!”, Bilbo tried to be brave but he felt himself so very little standing against that scarred man and his large company with a small pistol in his hands.

One of those men was just about to shoot Bilbo, like he would be just some little trash on their way, but his leader stopped him.

“Oakenshield just saved his life..! I suddenly feel like playing this game a little longer…!”

“But boss, we will lose them if we won’t go now!”, one of his men complained, but this steel-hook man made him silent by shooting a bullet on his head.

“Take that little one with us, just make sure that he won’t struggle much..!”

No, Bilbo wouldn’t be a hostage..! He was ready to shoot but then he felt how something hard hit his head and once again, everything around him became solid black and he fell into a dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was one of my favorite chapters to write, maybe because I have been in same kind of situation as Bilbo in this story. You see, even right now I got lots of money and some people who willingly pay my bills and so, I don't even have to ask. But still I'm sitting here all alone, having lost the most important person in my whole life, someone who can't buy back even with the all the money in the world. And that feeling sucks. But somehow I feel that this is only the beginning, tomorrow is as bright as I want it to be. And I'll finally go to the university, tomorrow is my first day there..! 
> 
> Thank you all who have read this fic and enjoyed..! Every view, comment. bookmark and kudos gives me the strenght to continue this..!


	21. I'm alright

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you all for comments, views, kudos and bookmarks!

“No! It can’t be true! It can’t! You’re lying, it can’t be true!”

“Thorin, calm down!”

Dwalin, Gloin and Bombur tried to hold Thorin down and keep him from strangling poor Bifur. Oin was worried of those bullet wounds and was getting frustrated when Thorin didn’t give him a chance to patch him up.

“Thorin, you know that Bifur wouldn’t lie about this! He said that he was sure that he saw how they were carrying Bilbo and headed to west!”, Bofur defended his cousin, but of course he also hoped that he had misunderstood what Bifur wanted to say. 

Thorin just couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t. It was impossible!

“But it can’t be true! Azog is dead, I killed him..!”

 

 

\--------

 

 

He had lied there for hours. On that hard wooden table. His hands were tied above his head with a cold metal chain. Since Bilbo didn’t look so strong they had left his feet untied. 

“Tell us where Thorin Oakenshield is hiding, and we will not hurt you!”, one of the five men threatened Bilbo. But Bilbo wasn’t going to talk. He had never heard of the name “Oakenshield”, but he bet that there wasn’t too many Thorins in the mafia business.

“Playing loyal, aren’t you..?! Well, we will have some fun then, maybe you would like to talk after that!”, one man laughed and twiddled a short dagger and a lighter in his hands; Bilbo had no idea what the man was going to do with them and he didn’t want to find that out, but his mouth was too dry for pleading.

But then he heard a gunshot and the man dropped dead on the floor next to the table.

“I told you, that I will personally quiz our guest.”, Azog, their leader, the one who had the steel hook marched everyone else out of the room, telling them to drag that body away with them.

Bilbo gulped and tried to stare the ceiling. He was much more afraid of being in that room alone with that one gangster than being there with five of his subordinates. After all, this man didn’t hesitate to kill his own men if they weren’t doing exactly how he had told.

“Do you know who I am?”, Azog asked, circling around the table Bilbo was lying on.

“N-no…”, Bilbo answered honestly. 

“My name is Azog. I bet that Oakenshield has told a few stories about me..?”

It took some seconds for Bilbo to remember Balin’s story about that one powerful Mafioso who killed Thorin’s grandfather. But if Bilbo remembered the story correctly, Azog was supposed to be dead.

“He… He said th-that he ki-killed y-you…”, Bilbo’s voice was not louder than a whisper.

“Oh, so he thought that just ripping off my left arm was going to kill me..?! How foolish!”

Then Azog started his speech about of how he had wanted to destroy Thorin for years, just waiting for a perfect chance to defeat him much like Thorin wanted to defeat Smaug. Bilbo listened in horror how Azog described him what he had done till now so that he had gotten this close to Thorin finally, and what he would do to him when they were finally to meet again. 

“But now has happened something interesting… Oakenshield saved you, and in return you saved him from my bullets. Why? Why he would protect someone like you? And don’t tell me that you’re his friend! His only friends are fighters, rough men but you didn’t even know how to hold a gun!”

Azog had now moved his hook closer to Bilbo’s neck. Great, this reminded Bilbo how he had told Frodo that the Captain Hook wasn’t real and there weren’t any man who would live with a murder weapon attached to his skin. Looks like he had lied again about fairytales…

“I know that you’re not his little computer boy either. From what my spies had told me, you look too old for being that teenage boy or one of his dear nephews. You’re not a part of his family nor you are his subordinate, so why the hell did he saved you?!”

Azog would never believe that Thorin had hired Bilbo to help him to defeat Thorin’s other enemy. No, Azog would see that Bilbo wasn’t a real burglar. Bilbo was shaking so much and his ears were filled with the sound of his own heartbeats. He would happily tell why Thorin had saved him if he had even himself known a reason for that..! 

But suddenly Azog grinned. He leaned closer to Bilbo and whispered ominously:

“Should we test how much he actually cares about you?”

Azog showed Bilbo a telephone. Then he explained how hard it was to get that one single number where to reach Thorin. That would be compliment for Ori. His simple secure system had troubled Azog’s highly educated secure spies and hackers for a few years.

Bilbo didn’t know where Azog was aiming by calling Thorin. Azog placed the phone on the table, and Bilbo listened steady beep –sounds as they waited for Thorin to answer. 

 

Something inside of Bilbo felt like melting when he heard Thorin’s low voice.

 

_“It’s you, isn’t it?”_

“Hello Oakenshield. It has been a long time since we have last chatted.”, Azog sneered, but Thorin was not in a mood of playing games.

_“What do you want?”_

“We can talk about that later. I thought that you would like to speak with your little friend first…”

Then Azog leaned again above Bilbo and told him to beg for Thorin to come and save him.

Bilbo wasn’t feeling very brave, but he knew that he shouldn’t give Azog that joy of hearing him begging. Bilbo swallowed and tried to steady his voice.

“Thorin… I’m alright, I will manage on my own, don’t-“

Bilbo really tried his best, but then Azog slashed Bilbo’s leg with his hook and Bilbo couldn’t help but scream.

And when Thorin heard that scream, he felt like his heart had broken, shattered to pieces like a thin glass.

_“Mister Baggins! What did you do to him?!!”_

Azog laughed. So, the man in front of him was someone called Baggins. That name wasn’t known to him from the criminal businesses. It was confirmed then; this man wasn’t Thorin’s subordinate, but still he cared about him.

“If you wanna have him back in one piece, I advise you to meet me tomorrow and solve things at once. Remember to bring all your twelve friends with you.” , Azog watched with pleasure when Bilbo was gasping for air in pain.

 _“Where are you?”_ , Thorin demanded to know. 

“You have someone there who can track this phone call, right? But don’t try to be smart; I have this little rabbit at my mercy, remember.”

Instead of just turning off the phone Azog crashed it with his fist. At first Bilbo couldn’t understand why Azog had invited Thorin and his whole company to his hideout, into the place where Azog had stayed all along. But then he realized that if he was going to kill Thorin and everyone else, it wouldn’t matter did they know where he was hiding. 

Bilbo wished to be saved, but if it was going to cost all those great lives he would much rather… much rather die alone…

 

“Don’t come… please…”, Bilbo whispered barely audible voice. 

 

“Don’t come…”


	22. Wait for me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big hugs for everyone for comments, kudos, views and bookmarks!! I'm so happy to know that people actually read this! And now, I'm sorry for the short chapter, but the next one will be much, much longer and hopefully more exciting!

It didn’t take too long for Ori to find out where that phone call had been called; they would have to leave early if they wanted to fight with Azog tomorrow. 

They were staying in a one small motel, since they wouldn’t have had time to go back to their mansion for the night. Oin was busy helping everyone to treat their thank-god-only-minor wounds and looking after Thorin, so he wouldn’t strain himself too much. 

The atmosphere in their company hadn’t been so low for ages. They all were worried about Bilbo, hearing that Azog had hurt him in some way. But nobody’s sadness couldn’t measure with Thorin’s; he blamed himself from everything. 

If he had killed Azog years ago, Bilbo would now be safe. And if he hadn’t said all those things, Bilbo wouldn’t be so hurt. He had thought that mister Baggins was just a useless quiet coward. But nobody hadn’t yelled him like that for years, and never with such a sad way. And never had Thorin felt so miserably after a verbal fight. 

“Blaming yourself won’t save Bilbo.”, Balin told, and even though Thorin knew that, he couldn’t stop. 

“I hurt him… And after that I let Azog hurt him again…”

“He will be fine. We will save him tomorrow.”, Balin assured.

It was hard to believe, but Thorin needed to believe in himself and that he could save Bilbo from that monster. 

Before he tried to get some rest he gazed at the sky and whispered:

“Wait for me, Bilbo. I’ll save you, just hang on…”

 

 

\----------

 

 

Bilbo hadn’t been eating for a whole day and his head was hurting. He wasn’t sure was it a day or a night; the room he was held in was too dark for telling that. His back hurt. Ever since he had been brought to Azog’s hideout he had been tied on that table. 

When the telephone conversation with Thorin had ended and Azog had left the room Bilbo hadn’t seen or heard anybody. The wound that Azog had caused on his leg was not a deep one, and the bleeding had stopped pretty fast. But he still had lost blood and lying in the cold damp room didn’t make him feel better. 

He had fallen asleep at some point, and woke up when somebody entered the room again.

 

Azog.

 

“Oakenshield should be here soon, if he wishes to see you in a one piece, that’s it.”

Bilbo tried to fight against that little relieved feeling of thinking that Thorin would come and save him. No, he should wish that Thorin had forgotten him and saved himself..!

“I’ve been thinking, and I think I now know why Oakenshield is ready to risk his whole family’s life just to save you, mister Baggins.”, Azog grinned.

“H-he won’t come… There… There i-is not any reason for him to come…”, Bilbo said mostly to himself. 

“He will come. And he has a perfectly good reason for that. You’re his pet, aren’t you?”

Bilbo’s tired eyes flew open. 

“Wha… What you m-mean..?”, Bilbo really didn’t know what Azog was talking about. Why would anybody assume that someone like Thorin would be interested of someone like him?! 

“I can actually understand it. You’re small and pretty, just the type what that weakling would like to protect just to feel himself all big and powerful.”, Azog said and gripped Bilbo from the chin, forcing him to look that gangster boss into the eyes.

“If I touch you, he would lose his mind, right?”, Azog assumed, stroking Bilbo’s chest with his hook. 

“We… We aren’t like that!”, Bilbo found strength to yell and tried to squirm away from Azog’s touch. 

“Liar. If you aren’t his pet, then why the hell he would…”, then Azog went silent, and the frown he had worn changed back to that wicked grin.

“I get it… He hasn’t still touched you, right? How sweet of him, is he waiting till you get married or what? You have found a real gentleman, mister Baggins..!”, Azog laughed mockingly.

Bilbo felt how anger started to build inside of him. No, he should not have cared so much when somebody was mocking Thorin, but for some reason he did. 

“So, if I touch you, he wouldn’t only lose his mind… He would go berserk! What a great revenge it would be, to break his body after breaking his soul! A completely destruction!”

Bilbo would have opened his mouth to yell again, but he had only time to yelp when Azog tore his shirt open with his hook and slid his other hand to Bilbo’s trousers. 

 

“STOP IT!”

 

It took some seconds for Bilbo to realize what he had just done. It had been a mistake from Azog’s men for not tying Bilbo’s legs on the table; if they had done that, Azog wouldn’t now have a nasty kick on his chin. 

And what Bilbo had been thinking?! He had just kicked a mafia boss, a kind of one who kills people if they ask wrong kinds of questions! Oh no, Bilbo wasn’t sure how long he would live anymore, maybe only for a few seconds... 

 

But Azog didn’t kill him.

 

He laughed.

 

“Oh, you got some guts after all..!”, Azog grinned, and Bilbo’s surprise changed back to the fear; a manically smiling Mafioso is never up to anything good..!

Azog pressed Bilbo’s legs down on the table by gripping his both ankles with his right hand. He then leaned closer to Bilbo’s face, but was stopped when somebody was banging the door.

“Mister Azog! Thorin Oakenshield is on his way! Our spies spotted him and his men! Looks like he had kept his promise, there is exactly thirteen of them!”

Bilbo couldn’t believe his ears. Thorin and all the others had come to save him..! To save their good for nothing, till now almost useless burglar! Why? Why they would risk so much for a one man they had only knew for a couple of weeks?!

“Well well… Looks like your owner wants you back. We better get ready to meet him..!”, Azog sneered and withdraw his face away from Bilbo’s. Then he broke the chains which were holding Bilbo’s arms with bare hands and lifted Bilbo up from his broken shirt. 

“He will be delighted to see you like this, don’t you think so?”


	23. A great burglar

Fili and Kili had begged their uncle to tell them his plan, but Thorin’s short answer was that he hadn’t made any rescue-plan; he was just simply gonna go there, fight with Azog and this time kill him for sure. 

“You will take care of all the others, just like we did yesterday in that forest, and will help me to keep mister Baggins safe.”

“So you really don’t have any plan..?! But uncle, Bilbo’s life is in danger!”, Kili protested.

“I know that Azog doesn’t want anyone’s but my head! We don’t need a plan if all we’re going to do is to fight and kill him!”

Of course Fili and Kili weren’t the only ones who were worried, all the others were too. But they knew that if they tried something funny and then failed, it would cost Bilbo’s and probably their own lives too. Right now they just needed to trust their leader, do just as he told them to do.

Again they couldn’t drive the whole way, and they were forced to walk the rest of the narrow road to Azog’s. They were sure that there were spies watching their moves, counting them to be sure that Thorn had brought all of his men with him. 

 

Then they saw it. Old, concrete building, resembling an old hotel. The big house looked like it had died, and everything around it was dead too; leafless trees, hard ground instead of grass and nothing made a sound, no wind or no birds. 

They saw nobody outside of the building, but the front door was left open, revealing only darkness.

“We have to go in there? I get chills just from looking this place..!”, Bombur shook his head.

“We have to go, for Bilbo.”, Bofur said, his voice not carrying that cheerful sound it always did. 

Thorin didn’t like this. Azog wanted them to fight inside of the house, in somewhere that wasn’t familiar to Thorin at all. But he had defeat Azog once, and he would defeat him again. He would rip every part off of his body this time, give him the most painful death ever. 

When they stepped in the house, all they could see was the darkness around them. The only light sources were the little cracks on the corners and on the wall. Like in their own house, there wasn’t much windows either, actually no windows at all. But there weren’t any lamps either. 

It didn’t took too long for their eyes to get used in the darkness, and Thorin took few steps forward trying to decide which way to go in that big house. Then he stepped on something and heard a little “splash”.

 

A little pool of blood.

 

All the others saw that too. Their eyes started to follow a wide trail of blood that continued to somewhere in the darkness in front of them. 

“You don’t think that…?”, Nori swallowed and looked at Thorin.

“No… It can’t be…”, Thorin shook his head, trying to assure himself that this blood didn’t came from their burglar.

And they started to run following that blood trail. It continued and continued, and the worry inside of them all grew bigger at every step. 

And then they could see how someone was lying on the floor at the end of that trail, but it was too dark to tell who it was from where they then stood.

Thorin hurried his steps and kneeled down.

“It’s not him…”, he let out a sigh of relief and everyone else did the same. But right after that they heard an ominous laughter and suddenly they were surrounded by a dim yellow light.

 

“Welcome, Oakenshield.”

 

The light allowed them to see that they were standing in a doorway of a large hall, probably originally meant for to be a lounge or a dining room. But Azog clearly used that wide space for violent fights; there were bloodstains and bullet holes on the wall and on the floor, and no furniture at all. 

Azog stood at the other side of the hall, slightly leaning against the wall next to the other exit of the room. 

“I’m glad that my subordinate showed you the fastest way here.”, he grinned and Thorin just wanted to shoot him right there, but knew that Azog wouldn’t let him do that. This wasn’t going to be an easy fight.

“Where is he?”, Thorin demanded to know.

“You mean your little bunny? He is right here, and he is very eager to see you.”, Azog said and pulled the chain he had kept hidden behind his back. And then Bilbo fell in the room from that dark hallway behind Azog; his hands were tied together in front of him with that metal chain that Azog was holding. 

Bilbo blinked his eyes, trying to get used to some light after spending a day in the darkness. Then he saw Thorin and his company, and found himself smiling a little, even though he had told himself for not to hope that they would come and save him.

“Everybody..!”, he breath out, wearing that tiny smile on his lips, which was barely seen by anyone.

Others were relieved to see that Bilbo looked pretty okay; they meant, he could have been missing a limp or two, knowing Azog. But Thorin’s eyes darkened as he saw Bilbo’s condition: There was bloodstains on his clothes, dirt on his skin, his trousers were torn around the wound that Azog had caused him with his hook, his shirt was ripped open and his hair were partly glued to his face because of sweating. 

“Yes, that’s the face I hoped to see!”, Azog laughed and then pulled the chain again, lifting Bilbo up on the floor and brought the short man close to his chest.

“You haven’t train him too well, Oakenshield, so I needed to hurt him a little. But I understand why you would wanna keep him. After all, he is very soft to hold…”, Azog grinned, happy about knowing that Thorin’s anger was flooding over soon.

 

“LET GO OF HIM!”, Thorin shouted, surprising himself and the others from how much he had actually got angry just now. 

 

Bilbo tried to struggle away from Azog’s grip, fearing what was going to happen next.

“If you want him back, you’re going to have to fight. But don’t worry, when you lose I let you live long enough to watch how I’m gonna make him obey all my orders… And who knows, if he is fun and obedient enough I might even let him live till I grow bored..!”

Thorin would have shoot Azog then, but Bilbo was too close to that scum. 

“Then let’s fight!”, he shout and pointed his gun at Azog, urging him to do the same.

“No Oakenshield. We’re not using guns today. The fun would be over too soon if we do. You’re going to use that sword. You can play with it until I decide to rip your arms and legs off with my hook. If you don’t agree and throw your and your men’s guns away, I have to hurt this bunny a little bit more… ”, Azog said and pointed at the wall next to Thorin where the short but sharp sword was stabbed in. 

Thorin didn’t have much time think when Azog had already pressed his hook lightly on Bilbo’s shoulder, making the small man squirm in pain.

Quickly they all tossed their guns in to the hallway behind them, and just after that all the passages to the room closed, and Azog’s own men showed up, ready to take care of all the others. 

Thorin wielded the sword, hiding his smile when he thought how stupidly Azog had done. Many didn’t know it, but Thorin was actually a master what came to fighting with sword. It was just that in the world of super-criminals it was much more cleaner to use bullets than blades. 

Azog dropped Bilbo on the floor, stepped forward and told his men to begin.

 

The room was soon filled with loud fighting sounds as Azog’s men attacked on Thorin’s group. They were all gathered to the other side of the room than where Thorin, Azog and Bilbo were. None of them had guns, only short knives and fists. They were all in a one circle, fighting and shouting when Thorin and Azog were slowly approaching each other. 

Thorin moved first. Bilbo shut his eyes thigh when he heard how Thorin’s sword clenched with Azog’s hook, and then the real fighting began. 

 

Bilbo had never seen anything like that before. Thorin moved fast, dodged Azog’s attacks and wield the sword like he was born do to that. But even though Thorin was a good fighter, so was Azog too. His hook wasn’t as big or long as the sword he had gave Thorin, but he and Thorin were still event at that battle. 

Or almost event. Every now and then Thorin’s attention turned to his family who were struggling against Azog’s men. Bilbo didn’t almost bear to look that; there were blood on everybody and hearing how they screamed because of the pain when a knife sunk in their skin was the most terrible sound Bilbo had ever heard. 

“I’m here, Oakenshield!”, Azog reminded Thorin and managed to scratch him painfully on the shoulder. But Thorin didn’t care about the pain. He wielded again and again, refusing to give up. But every time he heard how one of his friends was suffering, his concentration lowed and he let Azog too close.

Bilbo watched this in a horror, and a deep quilt drowned his heart. Oh why did he say all those things to Thorin back then in the forest! He wasn’t greedy or unthankful, none of those things..! He loved his family over everything, couldn’t stand that he was unable to protect them. Right now he was standing against the one of his worst enemies, but couldn’t concentrate to kill him when the worry of his family was only growing. It only meant that his love for his family was greater than his hatred towards the man in front of him. And right now he was risking his whole family just to save Bilbo, ready to risk everything he loved because of a one man. Because Bilbo knew that Thorin would have killed Azog with a great risks anyway, but if he didn’t cared about Bilbo, he wouldn’t need to accept Azog’s demands and fight by his rules. But he did care, cared more than Bilbo or he himself could ever believe. Because if you had asked from Thorin now why he was ready to sacrifice things for Bilbo, he wouldn’t know the answer. But he knew that for some reason he couldn’t forgive himself if he let the burglar die. He knew that that bittersweet feeling that he was feeling towards the short man would not forgive him.

Bilbo forgot his quilt for a second when he saw how Azog’s hook sunk in Thorin’s chest and the man fell on the floor. Everyone else saw that too, but they couldn’t run to Thorin’s aid when they were surrounded by Azog’s subordinates. 

Thorin stood up and tried to ignore the throbbing pain. But his vision started to blur, and it didn’t take much for Azog to throw the sword from Thorin’s hands. Thorin lost his balance and stumbled backwards. 

“This was too easy..!”, Azog laughed and was ready to end this fight. 

“I’ll cut your legs so you won’t be able to interfere when I give you the show I promised..!”

Thorin tried to get up and grab the sword again, but his energy was draining off. Bilbo couldn’t watch that. He was Thorin’s only hope now, even though his hands were tied and he was feeling weak too. But he was only one who wasn’t fighting; he got to help Thorin in some way! 

 

Again, Bilbo did some quick thinking. He saw how the cracks on the wall behind him had made a few hard concrete pieces to fall off from it, and Bilbo quickly crawled closer to them and grabbed one of the sharpest tiny pieces with his fingers. It wasn’t easy, almost all the blood had run out from them because of the chain around his wrists. But the real trick was when he stumbled to stand up and forced himself to run.

“This is for my arm..!”, Azog shouted as he lift his left arm up, ready to slice Thorins legs off. 

 

But then someone jumped on him, making Azog to fall down and Thorin couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw that someone was Bilbo Baggins.

 

Bilbo didn’t waste any time. Right after Azog had fell Bilbo crawled on him, and stabbed Azog’s other eye with that sharp little stone. 

Azog’s subordinates couldn’t believe their eyes. Their leader, the man who had many times proofed that he was the strongest and the most wicked man in the whole world was now wriggling on the floor in pain as the man not even half of his size was forcing a piece of concrete deeper in his eye..! 

And even thought Thorin’s men were as surprised as Azog’s, they couldn’t waste this chance and attacked once again, this time more winningly against Azog’s confused and now little scared men.

But Azog wasn’t going to die just from losing his other eye. He pushed Bilbo off from him and tried to slice Bilbo in two with his hook, but Bilbo barely dodged his attack.

Azog wasn’t gonna let him get away, and this time he might had actually killed Bilbo, if a sword’s blade hadn’t sunk into his back and come out from his chest. 

Thorin didn’t care to pull that sword out. He watched how Azog collapsed on the ground, and this time Thorin was sure that the man would never rise again. 

As Azog died, so died the courage of his men, and they ran away as fast as they could. Thorin’s men let them. After all, their condition wouldn’t allow them to fight much more either. 

“Thorin! Bilbo! Are you alright?!”, they ran to them and Bofur and Bombur started immediately release Bilbo’s hands from the chain.

“Let’s get out of here, quickly!”, Dwalin said and helped Thorin to stand. They weren’t going to risk that some of Azog's men were going to come back or were hiding somewhere. 

Bofur lifted Bilbo in his arms as they hurried out of that building, grabbing their guns with them on their way out. And Bilbo had never been so happy to see the daylight, even if the brightness of the sun was almost blinding him.

 

 

\---------

 

Finally, they were back to their cars and were sure that nobody had followed them. Only then they started to understand that they had won. Azog was finally dead and they were all safe, had all their limbs on their places and everything!

But Thorin wasn’t cheering with his company. Oin and Balin urged him to sit down, but Thorin’s eyes were fixed on Bilbo as he watched how everybody were hugging him and telling how worried they were.

“Mister Baggins!”, Thorin breath out and Bilbo immediately stiffened, not that he had had much time to relax at all…

Bilbo shut his eyes tight. He waited for Thorin to shout at him, telling him something similar that back then when they had killed those three smugglers. 

 

But then he felt Thorin’s arms around him, holding him tight.

 

“I’m sorry… For all those things I said and did… You saved my life and… And you were right, right about everything.”, Thorin said, and like Bilbo everyone else were pretty shocked too. It was so very unusual for Thorin to apologize with such an honest and soft voice, or actually apologize at all!

“I’m... I’m sorry too… For calling you greedy. A greedy man wouldn’t do this much for a lousy burglar…”, Bilbo said as he gently hugged Thorin back.

“No. I’m sorry that I doubted you. Everyone were right, you really are a great burglar.”, Thorin admit, but Bilbo shook his head.

“I could have proved that sooner, without all this happening. I… I promise that from this day on I will do a better job.”, Bilbo promised, and everyone’s face lightened.

“You mean… You mean that you will stay with us? Even after all this?”, Kili smiled carefully as he asked the question that was in everybody’s mind. They meant, Bilbo could have died because of them. It would be more than understandable if he wanted to retreat form this job. And owing his own life for him Thorin wouldn’t be in a position to tell him not to.

“Of course I’ll stay.”, Bilbo answered immediately, even surprising himself how sure he was of his decision.

“Why?”, Thorin wanted to know the reason. Why would he help a man like Thorin after all these things?

“Because… Because I know that it’s not just about the revenge… It’s just that… That you would just not forgive to anybody who had hurt your family, and I wouldn’t forgive that ether.”, Bilbo managed a weak smile. Because right then Bilbo Baggins didn’t remembered that he wasn’t the great burglar which everybody thought he was. That he didn’t belong in this criminalized world. He only felt a deep urge to help these men, felt that he wanted to give them back what belonged to them and make the man who had once hurt and betrayed them suffer deeply. 

After seeing Bilbo’s smile everyone started to cheer and clap their hands together; Bilbo hadn’t noted it himself, but he hadn’t done much smiling after he started to live with Durin’s. 

And as Thorin saw that smile, he was pretty sure that he hadn’t seen anything so pretty in his whole life. 

“Alright, let’s celebrate later, shall we? Let me patch you guys up a bit and feed Bilbo. I’m sure he hasn’t eaten for a while. We still got a long drive back to the home.”, Oin reminded everyone, and before he had finished his speech Bombur was already on his way to his car to search the snacks he had saved for Bilbo. 

 

\----------

 

After eating and laughing with everyone, the ones who had the most strength to do so started to drive them home. Bilbo got in the same car with the same group of men as the last time, but this time Fili was driving and Kili was sitting next to him. Bilbo was on the backseat with Thorin, Oin and Gloin, and even though he still felt a little bit weird to sit next to Thorin, he was too tired to care. Soon he fell asleep, head leaning against Thorin’s shoulder. Thorin gently stroked Bilbo’s messy hair, and did the second unexpected thing that day next to his apologize.

 

He smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, this chapter was so fun to write, and it kind of ends one part of this story. But still this is not the end, there is many more chapters still to go..! Big thanks for everyone who have commented, give kudos, add bookmarks and to everyone who have read this fic this far..! I'm so sorry that I have been too busy to search beta reader, but I have finally put some effort in it, so I hope that soon someone nice will give his/her time to fix all the mistakes here..! 
> 
> Thank you all!


	24. Another love-sickness

The week passed fast and pretty easily.

 

The first couple of days were of course nothing but partying, and the evenings were spent by talking and telling different versions about the last week’s fights. Nori, Bifur and Bombur were also telling what kinds of things they had found from that old wooden mansion where they had been taken after the first attack in the forest; there were all kinds of document’s and photographs, lists of different shipments and so on. Bilbo would have to stay awake all night at some point when he was going to read and orientate those documents and stuff.

But the first thing that Bilbo had done when they had gotten home and had a good long sleep was to call Frodo. Ori told him that Frodo had called him once, not too long after when Bilbo was kidnapped. Ori could only lie that Bilbo was out with somebody, and Bilbo was grateful for that lie; there was no need to make Frodo worried. And when Bilbo now called him, he tried not to sound like he had thought that he would never hear his dear one’s voice again. And even if he hated that he was lying to Frodo so much, he knew that doing things like this was for the best. Maybe someday he would tell Frodo all about this adventure of his, but not before the adventure had ended.

Ori was pretty sure that Thorin would now allow Bilbo to make phone calls without a guard, but just in case he sat there, listening Bilbo’s merry talk with a smile on his lips. 

And even though things had been very hectic and dangerous, Bilbo was now much more relaxed with this Mafioso-family. They weren’t in too much hurry to continue their mission to destroy Smaug: they needed to rest and wait till their wounds had healed completely. Smaug was their biggest enemy, and they needed all their strength if they were going to win against him. 

Luckily none of them had gained any permanent injuries. But it would take more than a one week till all those broken arms and black eyes would heal. Ori was in best condition, after all his brothers and Dwalin were protecting him the whole time they were fighting against Azog’s men. Ori just had some few slight bruises and other minor wounds which were to heal without too much treating. Bilbo too was pretty much okay; he got a bump on his head, nasty looking red marks over his wrists and the scars on his shoulder and leg which Azog had caused with his hook. 

Others had all kinds of wounds all over their bodies, but the one who had it worst was Thorin: He got two bullet wounds, a deep scratch over his chest and all those other smaller but still painful wounds from that battle with Azog. Still, Thorin refused to show his pain to his men, letting Oin to treat his wounds only when they were alone.  
Bilbo was amazed how any of those men didn’t complain about the pain they must suffer. Well, Bilbo knew that the painkillers Oin feed them were pretty effective but it wasn’t just that; how they all could stay so cheerful and happy right after all these horrors? And how could Bilbo laugh and cheer with them?

But Thorin was never to take a part in these happy events and relaxing conversations they shared. He would sit with Balin or Dwalin, talking about businesses or just some other, trivial things. But always when others came in the room, usually bringing Bilbo with them , Thorin would excuse himself and leave the room, only politely greeting Bilbo on his way out. 

“You know, I think that Thorin is avoiding our little burglar.”, Bofur stated as he was sitting in a dining room with his brother, his cousin and with Nori, Dori and Ori.

“That’s obivious. I bet that he hasn’t said more than a ten words to Bilbo since his apologize.”, Nori commented and helped himself with a tea and cookies that Bombur served them. 

“Maybe he's just feeling a little ashamed. You know, it’s not like Thorin to admit that he had done something wrong, and if I understood correctly, he had said some hurtful things to Bilbo right before Azog appeared.”, Dori suggested and sipped his tea.

“I just think that he’s in love.”, Bombur said with a smile and suddenly everyone went silent.

 

Thorin Durin? Their stiff and cranky leader? In love?!

 

“You’re absolutely right bro! Even if it sounds so weird, there's no other explanation for Thorin’s actions!” Bofur laughed as he remembered how Thorin had almost blushed when Fili and Kili dragged Bilbo downstairs to drink with them right after Bilbo had had a nap: His hair was such a mess, face flushed and Thorin just stared at him before leaving in a hurry. 

“But that’s great! Mister Durin and Mister Baggins will complete each other perfectly!” Ori smiled and his big brother patted him on the shoulder, laughing merrily.

“That’s true Ori! Although I’m pretty sure that Thorin hasn’t realize his love even by himself! You know, he is way too stiff and proud to admit those kind of feelings!” Nori stated and everybody agreed him; Thorin was a smart man, but helplessly stupid when it came to the matters of heart.

Dori, who had almost choked on his tea after Bombur’s statement, was also forced to admit that there really must be something going on between their leader and burglar. 

“But what about Bilbo then? Do you think that he feels something for Thorin? I mean, it seems that he is more likely afraid of him sometimes…” Dori coughed and Ori gently tapped his back.

“I think that Bilbo had almost looked sad when Thorin leaves right after he comes to the room. So there must be a great chance that their feelings are mutual.” Bombur assumed and his brother and cousin were nodding in agreement. Sure there was something, but maybe Bilbo had never been in love before either. 

“We should arrange them to have a date or something what could make them spend time together without any business matters.” Bofur smiled, but reminded everybody that they should not speak about this to Fili and Kili; if they were to plan a date for their uncle, it would be chaotic!

“So you noticed too that love-sickness that has plagued our boss?” Oin hopped in the kitchen as he leaned his left side on the crutch. 

“You knew about it too mister Oin?” Ori asked.

“Well, I’m a doctor after all.” Oin smiled to the younger boy and asked Bombur to pour him some tea.

“What a long day it has been! I still have to change the bandages on Dwalin’s arm and make sure that Kili had cleaned that nasty stab wound he got! Promise me that next time we have a fight you all just break a few ribs or some other bones! They are much easier to take care of than worry about the infections and such.” Oin sighed and even though everybody were laughing they were also very grateful for their doctor who helped them even though he had gotten pretty hurt too.

“Are you okay, mister Oin? You should rest too, I’m worried about your ankle…” Ori worried, and then a cunning plan came to Bofur’s mind.

“Yeah, have a rest Oin! I’m sure that Ori knows how to change those bandages on Dwalin's arm!” he smiled, making Ori blush and Nori frown a little; Bofur had teased Nori few times, saying that Ori will make a pretty bride for Dwalin. Dori instead was completely clueless of those feelings his little brother had for the older man, and so he didn’t expect Bofur to hint anything inappropriate just now. Nori also hadn’t told his big brother about Bofur’s suspicions, because he knew that Dori was twice as overprotective as he was for Ori, and would freak out if he thought that their little baby brother was in love with their most experienced fighter.

“Sure Ori can do that much, right Ori?” Dori said, not noticing Nori’s frown. Bofur threw a smirk to Nori, wordlessly telling him to relax and trust his little brother.

“Ye-yeah, I know how to do it…” Ori stuttered and Oin smiled to him.

“It would be a great help, thank you Ori. It’s already late, so I’m sure that Dwalin is in his room. Just take the bandages from my table and go there.” he thanked as Ori stood up and was ready to go.

“And after that you must go to sleep. You also need to rest so your own wounds will heal.” Dori told and Ori rolled his eyes for that.

“They are just some bruises, brother!” Ori said embarrassed as his brother treated him like little child. Then he left the kitchen.

“Seems like our doctor tries to cure another love-sickness here.” Bombur whispered only so loud that Oin, Bofur and Bifur could hear him as he poured Oin his cup of tea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is just gonna be some Dwalin x Ori smut... Yeah :>  
> (Don't you worry Bagginshield fans! We will be back to their relationship shortly!)
> 
> Thank you all for comment, kudos, bookmarks and views!


	25. Pink sun

Dwalin was so very frustrated. Oin had forbidden him to go and train his muscles until his arm had recovered fully. He had got a pretty deep stab wound and scar on it when he was protecting Ori against Azog's men. He didn't regret that, of course he didn’t! But not being able to do more than jogging for a week was hard for him when he was used to train his fighting skills for hours every day.

Someone knocked on his door. Oin probably was there to change his bandages. Great, maybe he could persuade the doctor to let him do some training tomorrow.

But when he opened the door, he was surprised to see Ori standing there with those clean bandages.

“Go-good evening mister Dwalin..! Oin was a bit busy so I’m here to change your bandages…”, Ori said nervously. He was afraid that maybe Dwalin wouldn’t trust his skills in this matter and would rather have Oin, the real doctor to look after his wounds.

“Is that so? Well… Come on in then.”, Dwalin agreed, trying to hide his surprise and eagerness.

“Thank you…”, Ori nodded as Dwalin let him in and closed the door behind him.

Even after living with Dwalin his whole life, Ori had never been in his room. Of course he hasn’t, the house was big and Dwalin used his room only for sleeping. It felt so weird for Ori to stand there, in a dim large room which was filled with Dwalin’s scent and belongings.

And then Ori spotted something. The corner, where Dwalin’s bed was, was filled with the drawings Ori had drawn for him when he had been just a little child.

“My drawings… You kept them all…”, he said, not quite believing his eyes.

“Of course I did. You worked hard for every one of them.”, Dwalin answered and Ori laughed nervously.

“Oh my… I was a really crappy drawer back then..!”, he shook his head as he watched those messy crayon colored pictures about different animals and family members.

“I still think that they are all great.”, Dwalin said.

“Especially the one with the pink sun.”, he added.

Ori’s eyes searched for that picture, and when he found it he chuckled a bit. There was this pink big sun, and under it he had drawn Dwalin and himself, smiling happily.

“I remember that mister Kili wanted to borrow my yellow pen… That’s why the sun is pink.”, Ori smiled for the fond memory, and Dwalin sighed as he saw that smile; it’s been a while since he had seen it last time.

“Oh yeah..! Umm, the bandages..?”, Ori remembered and turned to look Dwalin again.

Dwalin nodded and sat on the edge of his bed. He took off his shirt and Ori was thankful for the room’s dimness; maybe Dwalin wouldn’t notice how he blushed.

But Dwalin did. He also noticed how Ori’s hands were shaking as he removed the old bandage from his arm, revealing the wound which looked much worse than it actually was.

“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”, Dwalin said with a soft voice, and Ori immediately lifted his gaze to meet Dwalin’s eyes and stuttered.

“No! It’s not that, I mean… I want to do this because you… You got this when you protected me and I haven’t even had a chance to thank you properly for that…”, Ori said, feeling so guilty when he thought how he was completely useless against those men back then…

“Just you being alive and safe is enough for me.”, Dwalin reassured the younger boy, and felt how his own heart started to beat a little bit faster. Ori was here, in his room, sitting on his bed, touching Dwalin’s bare arm.

Then Ori felt more uneasy. He couldn’t understand mister Dwalin at all. He couldn’t take this anymore, he had to know the answer for the question that had been in his mind for a years.

“Mister Dwalin… You are not my brother or a relative, so why do you care about and protect me so much?”

“We’re family, of course I protect you.”, Dwalin answered, not sure what kind of answer Ori was after, and why did he even asked such a question.

“But everyone else are part of the family too, but still you protected me first in every situation, even if my brothers had been there too. And please, don’t say that it’s because I’m the youngest; mister Kili is only two years older than me.”, Ori spoke and fumbled the old bandage in his hands, not daring to look Dwalin in the eyes.

Dwalin was getting more confused.

“Kili knows how to fight…”

“Because you train him. And I hear how you always told him and mister Fili to train harder, not wanting to run to save them every time they got in trouble… But I don’t know how to fight, and that’s why I’m such bother to you… ”

“You’re not a bother to me, Ori. Never have been and never will be, didn’t I already tell you so?”, Dwalin tried to convince Ori, but the younger boy just shook his head.

“I wish I could be more like you, mister Dwalin… Strong and reliable, so powerful but so kind…”, Ori sighed, not quite realizing that he had spoken his thoughts out loud.

Dwalin’s chest started to feel tight. Ori thought so highly of him, yet Dwalin was anything but those things.

“I’m not strong Ori… Or reliable. If I would be, I would…”, Dwalin stopped when he didn’t know how to continue. He was so close to say it, so close to ruin it all.

But it was already too late. Ori’s big eyes stared at Dwalin’s, full of questions and something similar to sadness. Dwalin felt like his heart was about burst. He could fight against of thousands of men and survive, but he knew that Ori and his bright eyes were going to be the death of him..!

Unknowing of this fight that Dwalin had in his head, Ori turned to look at the floor with a quiet sigh, realizing how childish he had just been.

“I’m sorry, mister Dwalin… I… I’ll wrap the bandage and then leave, you need your re-“

Dwalin didn’t let Ori speak anything more. He cupped Ori’s face with his palms and gently turned the boy to look at him again, placing a light kiss on his lips.

“Do you know what I mean with this..?”, Dwalin whispered, staring deeply into Ori’s eyes.

“I- I’m not too sure…”, Ori answered honestly. Did mister Dwalin just kiss him? Suddenly it was really hard to think…

“I was afraid that if I do this you wouldn’t look at me again. But I’m tired of hiding it, this feeling I mean…”

“I… I don’t quite understand, mister Dwalin-”, Ori’s mouth felt dry. This can’t be true, he thought. Mister Dwalin couldn’t mean that he…

Ori gulped. He needed to confirm it.

“I- I have always looked you, more often than you might even know… And nothing will stop me from looking at you, I doubt I wouldn’t be able to stop even if you tell me to. Because I, I…”

Ori was having a hard time to find his voice, but Dwalin didn’t need to hear the words. He leaned to kiss Ori again, a bit harder than last time but still very lightly and gently. And then, he found the courage to finally say it.

 

“I love you.”

 

Ori felt how his heart tugged itself out of his chest. He touched Dwalin’s shoulders and pulled himself to kiss the older man again. Ori’s kiss was so innocent and careful, and Dwalin was sure that this was the first kiss that the young boy had ever given to anyone.

“I love you too. Always have and always will.”, Ori whispered, and Dwalin couldn’t take it anymore. He pulled Ori for another kiss, this time much more passionate and fierce one. Ori opened his mouth to say something, maybe another love confession, but Dwalin used this chance to slide his tongue in other’s mouth, deepening the kiss.

Ori let Dwalin to take the lead completely. In some point he realized that he had forgotten how to breathe, but just then Dwalin pulled away and took his time just to admire Ori’s flushed face, sparkling eyes and kiss-swollen lips.

He was beautiful.

Dwalin gently pushed Ori down on the mattress and placed another deep kiss on his lips. This time he made sure to make that kiss so very enjoyable for Ori. He also noticed that Ori was a fast learner; he moved his tongue with Dwalin’s in a perfect rhythm.

“What do you want?” Dwalin whispered after that sweet kiss.

Ori swallowed, not knowing what to answer. He meant, he kind of knew what he wanted, but was unsure how to say it.

“You know where this is leading to?”, Dwalin assured and gained a fast nod from the younger man.

“Of course I know, I have an Internet.”, Ori stated so seriously that Dwalin couldn’t help but chuckle a little.

“No, I meant that… That how far do you want us to go? ‘Cause if you don’t set some limits now I might go too fast here…”, Dwalin kissed Ori’s cheek and felt how the boy under him shook just only a little when he placed his hands on Dwalin’s shoulders.

“I don’t mind if you go too fast…”, Ori breath out, waiting eagerly Dwalin’s next move.

“You are sure you don’t want to think this over?”

“Believe me mister Dwalin, I have think about this long enough..!”

And that was all that Dwalin needed. He caught Ori’s lips for another passionate kiss, and enjoyed of the feeling when Ori’s hands moved up to his shoulder and down to his chest with a massaging movements.

Then he decided that his little Ori, finally “his” little Ori, was wearing too much clothes, and he stopped kissing his little one just long enough to help him to take off his knitted shirt. Dwalin felt that it was too hard to resist and then he slowly savored every place from Ori’s slender upper body with his tongue, making other writhe in pleasure.

“Mi-mister Dwalin..?”

“Yes Ori?”

“What… Uhm… What you want me to do..?”, Ori asked as Dwalin was slowly moving his hands nearer to Ori’s trousers, thumbs already finding their way between the garment and the skin.

“You just lay there, relax and enjoy. You can do things later if you want.”

Right now Dwalin wanted to cherish Ori, make sure that his first time was remembered as a fond and warm memory. Although the idea of having Ori’s little clever hands all over his body was also very, so very damn nice idea, he could wait for that till the next time.

Ori blushed more when Dwalin slowly tugged his trousers down, giving Ori a bit more time till he removed his underwear too. Ori automatically tried to hide himself by pressing his legs together and tugging his knees up.

“Don’t hide, it’s okay.”, Dwalin reassured and kissed Ori lightly on the lips.

“I-I’m just a… Little nervous, that’s it…”, Ori stuttered, not wanting to Dwalin think that he didn’t want this. Oh he wanted, had wanted for years but had been too shy to even dream about all these little things; like how it felt to touch Dwalin’s tattooed chest, feel his hands on his body and hear his low voice above him.

Dwalin gave Ori time to relax, and then he gently pulled Ori’s legs apart, keeping his eyes on Ori’s face all the time.

Ori was so glad that the room was so dim because that lessened his embarrassment a little, but on the other hand, he would have like to see Dwalin and his tattoos better.

Then he felt how Dwalin touched him, and suddenly the room’s dimness wasn’t enough to hide his blush. Ori covered his face with his hands and inhaled sharply.

“Feeling good?”, Dwalin raised an eyebrow, feeling a bit smug after seeing Ori’s reaction.

“Ye-yes…”, Ori swallowed. Dwalin then gently removed his hands from his face and leaned to kiss Ori again, deep and lovingly.

It didn’t take long for Ori to feel that he was close. Dwalin would have liked so much to give that pleasure for him right away, but if Ori was willing to do more with him maybe he could make the younger one wait for a little more.

Ori gasped as he felt how Dwalin let his other hand to find its way between Ori’s legs. Dwalin waited for Ori’s permission to continue, listening Ori’s breath quicken in anticipation.

The younger man finally nodded. Then Dwalin pulled his hands away and reached to search something from the nightstands’ drawer next to his bed.

At first he had considered of throwing it away. It had been just a stupid Christmas present from Bofur, who had almost choked with his laughter when Dwalin unwrapped the little box; he kept sure to hide that little bottle of lube right away, before Fili and Kili had time to notice it; there wouldn’t have been an end of that teasing if they had known. But then Bofur played the dirty trick by whispering to Dwalin that the scent of that lube was the lily; the very same scent that Ori preferred to use as a conditioner. And so, Dwalin had kept it, now very grateful that he had done so.

Dwalin waited for another nod from Ori till he pushed the first slicked finger inside. The feeling it caused was new for Ori, but it didn’t actually hurt.

Until Dwalin inserted the second finger in.

“Are you okay..?”, Dwalin worried when he saw the sharp sting of pain in Ori’s face. Ori nodded, a bit too fast so Dwalin didn’t believe him.

“I’m sorry. It will get better, I promise.”

Ori nodded again, not trusting his voice enough to speak. He was afraid that Dwalin would stop totally if Ori complained about the pain. But slowly that pain was fading, not still turning to pleasure, but something that was tolerable. And as Dwalin inserted the third finger in, making sure to do that as gently as possible, Ori gasped again, this time feeling something wonderful all over his body.

“Th-that’s… Mmh… Go-good…”, he stuttered, and if he hadn’t shut his eyes tight as the pleasure took over him, he would had seen how Dwalin breathed a sigh of relief: Yes, he was able to make Ori feel something else than pain.

It took some time, but finally Dwalin was sure that Ori was ready for him.

“You want to continue, right?”, he whispered as he removed his fingers from Ori’s body. Ori whimpered for the loss of that pleasure-filled feeling, but soon he realized what was to come next.

“O-of course..!”

Dwalin smiled for Ori’s eagerness; maybe he really had wanted to do this for a long time.

Ori pushed himself to lean on his elbows as Dwalin started to prepare himself for the main thing. He reached again to his nightstand’s drawer. When Ori saw the condom in Dwalin’s hand, he grabbed the older man from the wrist, making Dwalin to look Ori in concern.

“What is it, Ori?”

“I… Umm… May I… Put it o-on your..?”, Ori asked shyly, his voice trembling.

Thank lord he didn’t wanted to stop..!, Dwalin thought and smiled. He nodded for Ori and leaned a bit backwards, giving Ori some space to sit up and look at him.

Ori was so nervous as he opened the little plastic pack. Dwalin stripped of his jeans, and Ori blushed hard as he finally saw his, now finally, lover fully naked.

“When you’re ready…”, Dwalin smiled, reminding Ori of what he was doing.

“Oh..! Yeah, I’m just… Umm..”

Ori surprised himself when he was able to steady his hands enough to put that condom on Dwalin’s member. He wasn’t too sure was he more a little scared of when he realized how big Dwalin really was, or was the feeling he felt more like a curiosity and anticipating.

It was pretty hard for Dwalin just to sit there, trying not to flinch as Ori finally touched him. It was such a tease, but he needed to give Ori all the time he needed and not to rush him. But right after Ori had finished, Dwalin coated himself with the remaining lube, not wanting to wait much longer.

“It will be less painful if you turn around…”, he said and gestured Ori to lay on his stomach.

“But… I want to see you…”, Ori pleaded.

Oh how sly Ori really was…! He knew that Dwalin couldn’t say no to him if he looked him like that with his big brown eyes!

“Then come here…”, Dwalin pulled Ori on his lap and leaned his own back against the wall. He held Ori from the waist and Ori placed his trembling hands on Dwalin’s shoulders. Dwalin then gently positioned himself at Ori’s entrance, asking one more time was Ori sure about this. But even though he asked that, he knew that stopping at this point might be a little bit too hard for him.

“Pl-please…”, Ori pleaded and nodded again, and then Dwalin slowly lowered Ori down, thrusting himself inside of the smaller man.

Dwalin had already noticed it when he had his fingers inside of Ori, that the boy was really tight. Dwalin groaned as he felt that tightness around him, but forced himself to go slow as he felt how Ori buried his short fingernails on his shoulders.

“You… You okay?”, Dwalin asked and again he just gained small nods from the other one.

As Dwalin pushed himself deeper, Ori started to make most wonderful little moans and breaths. If Ori had been able to think something, he would have been surprised that he didn’t felt the pain he had felt when Dwalin had pushed his fingers in him. The feeling of odd pressure quickly changed to a great pleasure, and Ori’s moans got louder, even though he tried to be as quiet as possible.

Then Dwalin asked permission to move. Ori leaned to press his head against Dwalin’s chest and breathe out a little “yes”.

“Ah..! Mi-mister Dwalin..!”

“Just Dwalin, little one… Just Dwalin…”, Dwalin murmured to Ori’s ear.

“Dw-Dwalin..!”

Dwalin started to place small kisses on Ori’s shoulder, smiling when Ori finally forgot his mannerisms and moaned his name with such a pleasure. Not too long from that Dwalin knew that he couldn’t hold back much longer, and so he started to stroke Ori’s member, wanting him to release first.

It was getting hard for Ori to keep quiet, but he tried his best to suppress his moans; it would be too embarrassed if someone had heard them. And even thought Dwalin would have so much liked to hear those moans, he understood Ori and pulled him for a fierce kiss when Ori was finally at his limit. And not too long after that Dwalin also thrust in Ori for a last time, releasing himself inside of his small lover.

Ori fell limply in Dwalin’s arms, gasping for air. Dwalin stroked Ori’s back as he relaxed himself against the wall.

“You’re still okay..?”, Dwalin asked and felt how his heart skipped a beat when Ori lifted his head to look Dwalin in the eyes, smiling so very sweetly.

“You were so gentle… Of course I’m okay…”, Ori chuckled and liked his lips.

Dwalin had always thought that Ori was beautiful, cute and all the other lovely things. But seeing him like this… Damn, Ori was a total mess, yet still so innocent and sweet! And to think that he looked like this because of Dwalin, because of what they just did, was the greatest feeling that Dwalin had ever felt.

Dwalin pulled Ori’s face close to his again, breathing “I love you” between the kisses they shared over and over again.

The last memory they had from that evening was when they slowly fell to lie on the bed, holding each other and drifted into a long, peaceful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter comes little late..! I fell sick all of sudden :
> 
> And Thank you all from comments, kudos, bookmarks and views! I'm so happy everytime when my phone makes that little "bling"-sound when this site sends me a note whenever someone has commented or left kudos..! <3


	26. D.W.A.R.F

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for the lovely comments you left in the latest chapter! I promise that there will be some Bagginshield in the future! 
> 
> And Thank You all for the Kudos, bookmarks and views..! (and I'm sorry for the short but hopefully not so boring chapter..!)

“Here it is..!”, Bilbo said as he placed the pile of papers on the table. Oh yes, he had finally started to do some real fighting-plans against Smaug, using all that information that Nori, Bofur and Bombur had gathered him and those stories he had heard from Balin. He didn’t had anything what they could use right away, but he had wrote down some things that they should think about further, things that could be useful in some point.

Right then Bilbo was just showing these notes to Thorin and Balin in Thorin’s office. Of course Bilbo was allowed to tell all the others about his research too, but Thorin wanted to hear them first in peace. He had asked Balin to be there only because he somewhat felt so nervous and something other whenever he was near the burglar…

“There is still much to do, but I stayed up all night when I did this..!”, Bilbo proudly showed for those two the fruit of his work.

“It’s just a one piece of paper..?”, Thorin raised his eyebrow questioningly. 

“Well yes, but I have written on it the secret codename that I invented for this mission..!”, Bilbo explained, but Thorin questioned that why in hell they needed a “secret codename” for anything.

“Umm… Isn’t that what everyone usually do..?”, Bilbo muttered. At least, in every agent-movie he had watched the main characters always used some kinds of complicated and nonsense-like codenames when they were carrying out a secret mission. 

“Thorin please. Mister Baggins is our professional and well trained burglar. If he says that we need a codename, then we must have one. Go on, lad..!”, Balin defended Bilbo once again and urged him to continue.

“Uh, right… It took me many hours, but I managed to invent a name which you must have never heard before, and what describes our mission perfectly..! Here it is: Destroying the Worst Abhorrent Racketeer Finally! D.W.A.R.F!”

“… Dwarf..?”, Thorin blurted.

“What..? Oh, right… Umm… So it’s not good then..?”, Bilbo sighed, creased the paper and tossed it in the waste basket. 

Balin thought that he should say something to cheer their burglar up. But before he had a chance to do so, Bilbo just picked up the rest of his papers and handed one of them to Thorin.

“I made this list of the other smugglers that work for the Smaug. I found their names and the places they are staying from the documents that Bofur and others had found from that gang’s hideout. Apparently that gang boss had many other smugglers that just those three big guys we took down over three weeks ago… These names don’t say anything for me, but if you happen to know them from some other… Businesses… But I’m sure that they are all confused now, since nobody had come and collect their shipments and pay them their money… And Smaug must be furious too, for not getting those guns and all the other things.”

Thorin nodded and looked those names. He seemed pleased and told that he and his men would take care of these guys, making sure that they tell them if they knew any details about Smaug. 

Bilbo swallowed. He knew what Thorin and his men would do to those smugglers; the very same that they had done to those other gangster they had met. Well maybe they wouldn’t kill them right away, but if they didn’t want to cooperate, then… Well, it would be the perfect desolation. After gathering all the information and documents for that gang’s place Thorin’s men burned the whole mansion down, causing a little forest fire at the same time… And of course, the place where Azog used to hide was no more existing; on very next day after that man’s death, Thorin, Dwalin, Gloin and Bifur returned there and burned his body, crashed the whole building, destroying it completely.

 

Bilbo tried not to think about it, but the world of criminals was cruel and he knew it. But the thing that scared him the most was that he wasn’t so afraid anymore. These guys he was living with were also hard-boiled criminals, but he couldn’t bring himself to care about that anymore. He should be afraid, they were the bad guys in the eyes of law. But he couldn’t bring himself to do that. These men were now his friends, and he wanted to help them out. 

But well… Even after all the circumstances Bilbo still felt a little uneasy around Thorin. Nothing personal, really… Bilbo knew that Thorin didn’t despise him anymore, and after saving Thorin’s life like twice he learned to trust Bilbo too. And after Thorin saved his life, like twice too, Bilbo also trusted Thorin. Bilbo had been so glad when Thorin was being so busy or in a need of a rest whenever they had happened to walk in the same room. Still nothing personal..! It was just… That every time he saw Thorin he felt something very heavy on his chest, but at the same time something very light twisted in his stomach. 

“It’s just a feeling of a deep respect…”, Bilbo had told himself many times. 

 

Bilbo had barely had the change to open the door and walk away, when Bofur and Nori stopped him and rudely marched in the room.

“Hullo! The meeting is over, I assume?”, Bofur waved and walked Bilbo back to the room, pulling him to sit down with him on one of those big sofas.

“When my nephews aren’t barging in here, you two decide to do it then?”, Thorin sighed and rubbed his forehead. 

“Aye, we thought that you might miss this when Oin is feeding so much painkillers to those two that they could barely walk…”, Nori laughed and grabbed the list that Bilbo had just given to Thorin from his hands.

“It has the names of those other smugglers that work for Smaug.”, Bilbo explained again when Nori wondered the meaning of that piece of paper.

“Great! So our next task is to find these guys and have a little chat with them, right?”, Bofur confirmed and Thorin nodded.

“Let’s see… There is ten names here… So it’s one guy for each one of us, great!”, Nori summed, but Bilbo and Thorin didn’t quite follow that.

“Isn’t it clear? Me, Bofur, Bifur, Bombur, Oin, Dwalin, Gloin, Dori and Balin take one for each, Fili and Kili are counted as a one person, of course… And Ori will just tag along with me or Dori.”

“Or with Dwalin…”, Bofur coughed when Nori had finished the explaining.

“Didn’t you forget someone..?”, Thorin frowned and gained exaggerated, surprised look from Nori.

“But that won’t do, Thorin! You were shot twice and stabbed who knows how many times! You need to rest, that’s Oin’s order! And Bilbo needs rest too! After all, he has already done his part of this job, finding all these names for us… Believe me, those documents were such a mess, it must have took nights to go them through.”, Nori said, making the frown on Thorin’s face grow deeper. 

“That’s true, Thorin. You and Bilbo were hurt pretty badly back then. You two need all the rest you could get. Besides, this is an easy job; you don’t need to strain yourself for that.”, Balin assured, and made it clear to Thorin that nobody was going to hear him if he had any complaints.

“It’s clear then; we leave tomorrow evening to search these guys, so I assume were back on the next day, somewhere around the morning.”, Bofur assumed.

At first Bilbo relaxed a bit. It would be nice to have some quiet alone time after all this hassle. He would have this big house all for himself for a one night..! But then he realized that he wouldn’t be there all alone… He would be there with Thorin. Alone with Thorin… Oh, that wouldn’t do good for his stomach! But then again, Thorin will probably be busy or tired like always, so even if they were in the house alone, they probably won’t even see each other in that whole time, right? 

“It’s going to be just a peaceful, quiet evening…”, Bilbo thought and allowed himself to relax again, not knowing how wrong he actually was.


	27. May I..?

He had been so wrong.

Thank lord he didn’t know it yet. 

 

\--------------------

 

“What?! You arranged a date for our uncle without telling us anything?!”, Kili and Fili shouted with one voice when Nori had accidentally spoke too loudly about their plan to get Thorin and Bilbo together.

“Hush boys! We’re not outside yet, you could ruin our little surprise if they hear you!”, Bofur calmed them down. 

“I remember my first date so well… Things went just like I had planned and we had just a perfect evening..!”, Gloin sighed and everyone rolled their eyes when he started to blabber again about how beautiful his wife used to be, how beautiful she still is and how their little son Gimli was like a little copy of his father.

“Yes yes, you are our love-master Gloin! I hope you’re sure that this date will be successful too. I must say that I have waited for the day when our Thorin finally finds someone special. I mean, he needs to think something else than Smaug and business..!”, Balin spoke as they all packed their needed belongings with them. Only a few hours till they leave, and then it’s in the hands of the fate whenever their date-plan is to work.

“What have you planned for them, then?”, Fili was curious to know.

“It’s just a romantic dinner, nothing too special. Bombur has made all kinds of awesome foods for them. I’m sure that at least Bilbo will enjoy, he clearly appreciates a good food.”, Bofur reminded everyone how Bilbo was eager to help Bombur in the kitchen and teach him or learn from him some good recipes.

“There is just one big flaw in your plan, old guys… Do you really think that Thorin would just have his supper with Bilbo voluntarily..!”, Kili shook his head, disappointed how unthinkable others had been. Thorin would just grab something simple from the fridge and eat in his office, ignoring Bilbo for the whole evening.

“A-ha! Don’t worry lad, we’ll take care of that too!”, Nori and Bofur smiled, gaining slow nods from all the others when Fili and Kili waited to hear what their plan really was.

“We will make sure that your uncle can’t get away from our burglar tonight..!”

 

\------------------

 

Thorin didn’t bother to come downstairs to wish luck for his family. Bilbo instead was there, telling them not to strain themselves and come back for the breakfast as the others were already stepping into their cars, ready to drive away.

“You sound like my mother..!”, Kili rolled his eyes as he hugged Bilbo with his brother. 

“Don’t you worry, we will be alright!” 

“You ought to be! And if I would be your mother, I wouldn’t even let you go outside with those stab wounds and sprained ankles!”, Bilbo said to the brothers and hugged them back. 

“We will be careful, mister Baggins.”, Ori promised as he hopped in Dwalin’s car.

“You’re not coming with me, Ori?”, Dori wondered, being sure that Ori would tag along with him or with Nori.

“Umm… Goodbye brother, see you tomorrow!”, Ori waved to his brother and then Dwalin quickly drove away, leaving the two brothers to look after them in disbelieve. Bofur, Bifur and Bombur just chuckled. 

“Oh no! It seems that Bifur forgot to bring our share of the lunch..! Bilbo, could you go to into that little pantry next to the kitchen and bring them? There should be this one cardboard box where our names are written on. ”, Bofur asked, and of course Bilbo was ready to help.

“I’ll be back soon!”, he promised and hurried back to the house.

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that…”, Balin smiled as he lifted the phone on his ear and waited for a few seconds…

“Thorin..! Sorry to bother you, but it seems that Kili has lost one of his guns again… Yes, he surely is… Could you go to check if it’s in the pantry? … Well of course it could be there, it could be anywhere! Just go and check, it’s not like it would take the whole evening, right?” 

 

\------------------

 

“Where… Where the hell is it..?”, Bilbo moved slowly in the dark pantry, trying to find the switch. There must be one, the whole pantry was so dark that Bilbo couldn’t even see his hands, and the dim yellow light that was coming from the kitchen didn’t reached much there.

Because the pantry that Durin’s had wasn’t at all like the other pantries that Bilbo were used to. Well he shouldn’t be so surprised anymore from anything. Everything in this house was big, so of course the pantry was also more like an average sized room than just a little closet. 

“Come on..! There must be a switch somewhere..!”, Bilbo was getting frustrated. 

Then he heard how the door slowly creaked, closed behind him, and how somebody clicked the switch and the lightness surrounded the room.

“Oh… Thorin?”, Bilbo turned and saw Thorin there, hand on the switch.

“Bilbo..? What are you doing here?”, Thorin wondered at first, but then the idea hit on him. Oh no, those bastards couldn’t…

“You’re not here to search Kili’s gun, are you`?”

“What..? No, I came to find a cardboard box for Bofur and Bifur and Bombur..! Now, where is it..?”, Bilbo started to look around, but Thorin just sighed and told him to forget that box.

“Apparently we have been fooled… For some reason everyone else have wanted to play a trick on us…”, he explained, not amused at all.

“Oh… I see… I should have known that Bombur wouldn’t let his cousin to forget anything that was related to food…”, Bilbo tried to laugh a little, but not because he thought that this was funny; he was just so damn nervous, because being in the average sized room with Thorin made the room feel like a normal, small pantry that it should be.

“Let’s leave-“, Thorin tried to open the door, but it was stuck. No, it was locked.

“Damn it..”, Thorin cursed and searched for his phone again. Bilbo was puzzled, if he recalls right there wasn’t any lock in that door. 

“There is an electronic locking system in every door… We usually use it only when we leave the house for some days, but now someone has switched it on.”, Thorin explained when Bilbo asked about this.

“How can it be opened then?”

“You need to call to the machine that controls this locking system. The number is long and very hard to remember.”

“But you’re calling to it right now, right?”

“No… I’m calling to the one who started this mess..!”, Thorin frowned, and Bilbo guessed that Thorin had always been too busy to learn that number, and it would be very unwise to write it down somewhere. And all the others had probably known that.

“Hello boss! Did we forget something?”, Bofur answered to Thorin’s call.

“Yes, the electronic locking system on, apparently..! I know that you and Nori are behind this, so if you two don’t want any more injuries in the near future, you would better call that system off..!”, Thorin demanded, but his threats didn’t work on Bofur.

“Oh don’t tell me that you’re locked in the pantry with our sweet little burglar! I would so gladly help you, but I don’t remember that secret number either… Actually, I’m pretty sure that only Ori remembers it, he is the one who created that whole system anyway..!”

“Then I’ll call him and-“

“I don’t think that your call will be noted by him any soon. You see, he is with Dwalin right now, and knowing Dwalin he will make that smuggler talk just by giving him that murderous look of his, so he will have plenty of time to do some other things for the whole evening. And I bet that he will do those other things with Ori tonight, so… Yeah, his phone must be switched off or something.”, Bofur tried to sound serious, but Thorin could hear that the man was wearing his playful smirk.

“Don’t worry, I think that I can call to Ori very early tomorrow morning, so you will just have be patient there. And while you are there, you two might as well eat, just lift that white cloth and enjoy..!”, these were Bofur’s last words before he hung up, and Thorin knew that it would be a just waste of energy to try and call to all the others. He somehow felt that all his men were together in this, all knowing that they shouldn’t answer to Thorin’s calls tonight.

“So umm… We’re stuck, right?”, Bilbo deduced as Thorin put his phone back to his pocket cursing quietly. 

“Till the morning, yes… Just sit and wait, there is not much else to do. And I believe that under that cloth must be something that’s cooked, so help yourself if you’re hungry…”

Only then Bilbo noticed the little table which was covered with a white cloth. As Bilbo lifted it, he saw prettily served food-plates, fresh salads, some meat kept warm under the food domes and many other delicious looking things. There was also a pair of candles, waiting to be lit up. 

“I think… I think that this food is meant for both of us…”, Bilbo assumed, but Thorin just stated that he wasn’t hungry right now.

“But… Umm… We will have to wait for a few hours, so… We could as well eat… I mean, even if they fooled us, they also made this food and…”, Bilbo didn’t know what his point actually was, but he would just feel bad to sit there in a silent, eating along while Thorin was sulking.

It took some more persuasion till Thorin finally sat down and agreed to eat some with Bilbo. But eating with Thorin didn’t make things much less awkward. 

And one thing that Bilbo couldn’t stand was those awkward situations. He felt that if neither of them was going to say something, just something soon he would explode! If Thorin wasn’t the one to start conversation, Bilbo would do it then..!

“So… Do you have any… Umm, hobbies? I mean, what you do besides work and so…”, Bilbo didn’t speak too loudly, but in his ears just talking normally sounded like shouting when the only noises before that had been the clinking of the forks and plates.

Thorin just looked Bilbo for a while, and made the smaller man feel like he had just said something very, very very very stupid..! And just when Bilbo was about to apologize, Thorin answered to his question.

“I don’t do much anything besides work… I used to train fighting skills and shooting just for fun, but now you could count that as a work too.”

“Oh, okay… That’s umm… Nice...”, Bilbo nodded for Thorin’s short answer.

“And you..?”

Bilbo blinked his eyes; he didn’t expect Thorin to continue this conversation. But he knew that the man wasn’t probably really interested of how Bilbo spent his free time, he was just being polite.

“I… I just read, watch movies and do some gardening, nothing special…”

“Sounds… Relaxing…”, Thorin commented, not really knowing how to keep this conversation up.

“Yeah…”

And again, that awkward silence came back. But this time Thorin was the one who tried to break the ice.

“Are you okay now..? I mean, have your wounds healed well?”

“Ah, them… Yes, Oin has treated them well, the scars itch a little sometimes, but that’s normal I heard. Besides, you were hurt much more badly back then-“

“May I see it?”

Now it was Bilbo’s turn just to stare at Thorin in a wonder, and after clearing his throat Thorin started to explain.

“What I mean is… Well, I know that Azog hurt you back then, on your leg… Oin told me that it’s healing well, but for some reason I feel uneasy whenever I think about that…”

If Bilbo hadn’t been so surprised back then, he would have thought that Thorin was almost cute for worrying about him. 

“So… May I see it?”

“Ah… Well yes, why not…”, Bilbo stuttered, not really sure what he should have answered and how. 

Bilbo sat there and waited, till he realized that he would have to take off his trousers if he was going to show that wound to Thorin. 

“Oh… Right… Umm… Wait a minute…”, Bilbo swallowed and stood up. He didn’t know whenever he should turn around or go behind a shelf while he undressed, but then he saw how Thorin kept his gaze on the floor, giving Bilbo some privacy.

If Bilbo had thought that the silent between them before had been awkward, taking off his trousers in front of Thorin was then something like extraordinary awkward..! He was so nervous that he almost couldn’t open the buttons of his trousers! But after all that fumbling he finally managed to do so, sat down and told Thorin that he was ready.

And if Bilbo had thought than undressing in the same room with Thorin was something like extraordinary awkward, then sitting in front of him only wearing his shirt, small jacket and underpants was something beyond awkward, nerve-wracking! But he had learn to control himself, and didn’t shook too much when Thorin stepped closer, kneeled down and looked his leg, or actually his thigh where the nasty scar was.

“May I touch?”, Thorin asked, and before Bilbo had time to think, he just nodded and then felt Thorin’s warm fingers carefully touching his thigh. 

“Does it hurt..?”, Thorin whispered when Bilbo flinched a little. 

“N-no… Like I-I said, it just itches sometimes…”, Bilbo was stuttering, but didn’t sound so nervous than he actually was.

Bilbo really didn’t know why Thorin wanted to do this, and neither did Thorin. But if Thorin Durin had been the kind of man who spoke his thoughts out loud, Bilbo would have heard the following while Thorin kept touching his leg:

_“Thank Lord it doesn’t look any worse..! You don’t even know how worried I was when I heard your scream back then, I couldn’t sleep at all… Tell me, why do I care so much? I just feel so uneasy when I think that he touched you… Tell me, why that thought makes me feel sick, makes me want to kill that bastard over and over again? I spent my nights while thinking of that, while thinking of you...The only answer I can find is that I simply hate the idea of anyone else putting a mark on you besides… besides me… Why? You’re just the burglar I hired, why I care so much?”_

Thorin’s thoughts were interrupted when he heard how Bilbo gulped loudly. Thorin lifted his gaze to look Bilbo’s face, and saw how flushed and nervous he was. Bilbo didn’t look him back, just stared somewhere at his right. Then things started slowly clear to Thorin.

_“I see… It’s because you’re my burglar… That if someone is to mark you it should be me. Because I hired you. And because of that nobody else is allowed to touch you…”_

Thorin had never thought of other people as his own property, so maybe that’s why he didn’t recognize that feeling any sooner. 

“He wounded you elsewhere too?”, he asked suddenly.

“What..? Umm… Yes, there is that one small scratch on my shoulder…”, Bilbo nodded, now looking back at Thorin and almost got scared when he saw how those blue eyes gazed at him so determinedly.

“I want to see it.”, Thorin said, clearly now more commanding than just asking.

Bilbo’s eyes widened at that, and he opened his mouth to say something like “wouldn’t that be too inappropriate”, but he couldn’t. Like the first time he had seen Thorin, those icy blue eyes made him feel so weak and powerless. It was like he couldn’t say no to Thorin.

He gulped again and slowly removed his little jacket, then unbuttoned his shirt. And while watching how slowly and nervously Bilbo did that, a sudden urge just to rip off Bilbo’s clothes by himself hit on Thorin, but even he was surprised to feel like that, so he restrained himself.

Bilbo unbuttoned his shirt only so much that he was able to show that scratch. Thorin straightened his back and touched it too, adding a bit more pressure on his fingers than when he touched Bilbo’s thigh.

“I’m sorry that I let this happen to you.”, Thorin spoke, feeling how his anger was growing when he remembered how Azog pressed his hook on Bilbo’s shoulder.

“It’s… It’s n-not your fault…”, Bilbo answered, feeling so uneasy when Thorin’s face was so close to his.

“No… I won’t let this happen again, I promise.”, Thorin vowed and then he slowly pressed his lips on that scratch and Bilbo couldn’t help but squeak.

What the hell Thorin was doing?! It was just a light kiss but still! Bilbo’s mind was screaming these questions, but he couldn’t open his mouth to say them aloud. Of course he too used to kiss Frodo’s wounds when the boy was younger to make him feel better, but this seemed to be very different from that.

“Umh.. Thorin..?”, he managed to say through his dry lips. Thorin slowly lifted his gaze to look Bilbo again and leaned a little bit closer.

“Yes..?”

Bilbo swallowed. What he was supposed to say? Thorin was so close! And that weird feeling that he always felt near Thorin was getting rapidly stronger. It was so strong that his whole body was shaking. Oh this couldn’t be just the feeling of respect anymore, if it had ever been that..! But if it wasn’t that, then what was he feeling? It’s not fear, he knew. But still it felt like he was afraid of something…

 

In the end Bilbo never answered to Thorin. Slowly, Thorin touched his face, tilted Bilbo’s head a little and kissed his lips very slowly and gently. 

 

Thousand questions rushed in Bilbo’s mind, but when their romantic kiss ended, Bilbo was unable to ask any of them.

 

Thorin’s phone rang.

 

They both jumped a little, Bilbo more than Thorin. Being unable to ignore it, Thorin answered, almost crushing the phone in his hands.

“What?!”

“Dwalin here. Ori called off that locking system, so you’re free to leave. He was so nervous that you would do something to our burglar while you’re locked in the small room with him. I tried to convince him that even you wouldn’t be so jackass to touch Bilbo against his will. I couldn’t make him relax before letting him to call that system off…”

Thorin didn’t answer, and then it hit on Dwalin.

“… Did I interrupt something..? Thorin, I didn’t interrupted anything, did I?!”

“Forget it. Thanks for letting me know.”

Thorin hung up the phone and as Bilbo quickly dressed up again Thorin opened the door.

“Others will be back early in the morning. You need to rest before they come and make noise again. Good night.”, Thorin didn’t look Bilbo when he said this, and didn’t stay to wait Bilbo’s answer. 

Then he left the room, feeling so mad when the only thing that had bothered him in Dwalin’s words was when the other had spoken about “our burglar”… 

 

Bilbo wasn’t their burglar. He was his, Thorin’s burglar now, had always been. And if Bilbo didn’t himself know that yet, Thorin would find a way to show that to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't say how happy your comments make me, so thank you all for commenting! And Thank you all for Kudos too, I can't believe I got so many of them..! And thanks for bookmarks and views too, you all are awesome..! I hope you still find this story interesting and keep reading, next update is gonna be on wednesday..!


	28. You two kissed

Thorin Durin had just kissed him while they were locked inside of the pantry and he was half-naked.

 

 

Wait, he needed to repeat it…

 

 

Thorin Durin had just kissed him while they were locked inside of the pantry and he was half-naked…

 

Yup, it still sounded ridiculous.

 

Bilbo tried to think what had actually happened, but nothing made sense anymore. He must have been hallucinating that whole “may I look and lick your wounds”- and kissing-scene. But the tingling feeling on his lips was screaming that it really did happen. 

Why? He didn’t know that.

He didn’t figure out the answer on the next morning either.

 

And not on the morning after that either. 

 

“Bilbo? Bilbo, earth is calling..!”

“Wha-what?!”

“Is everything alright lad? You haven’t spoken much ever since we came back from that little night-tour. Did something happened?”, Bombur asked with a concern when he was cooking with Bilbo.

“Oh… No, I’m fine..!”, Bilbo assured, but not sounding very convincing.

“Right Bilbo! Tell us everything! We know that something happened between you and Thorin!”

Bilbo couldn’t escape anymore. Suddenly Fili, Kili, Nori and Bofur had appeared in the kitchen, all very curious to hear why Bilbo had been so quiet for couple of days. And just when Bilbo had been so relieved when the others had been so busy this whole time! Having all kinds of things to take care of and summing them together after their return. One of those things to take care of was the prisoner they had taken, who probably had some really needed information of Smaug, but who wasn’t so willing to talk. Thank lord that at least that was keeping Thorin busy..! Bilbo didn’t know what to say to him if they were left alone again any soon…

“No-nothing happened, really! Why you think so?”, Bilbo still wasn’t being so convincing, not even a little as he blushed when remembered the warmth of Thorin’s fingers and… And lips…

“Don’t be like that! We heard that Thorin had been a little weird when Dwalin had called him..!”, Nori smiled, but Fili got a little worried.

“Just tell us if uncle did something… Well, something to you what you don’t want to do…”

“W-why he would do s-something l-like th-that..!”

Well yes, if Bilbo hadn’t blown up his cover before, his trembling voice did it now.

“Oh my god! Bilbo, what uncle Thorin did to you?!”, Kili got scared and grabbed Bilbo from the shoulders.

“If he did something, we didn’t plan it, really! We just wanted that you two could have a relaxing evening together, never wanting to traumatize you!”, Nori assured, and Bilbo started to shook his head before any of them had a chance to open their mouth.

“Nothing happened! Really, he didn’t do anything that I wouldn’t like..!”

Right after saying these things, Bilbo realized how ambiguous his words really were.

“I see…! He did do something, but you rather enjoyed it..! No wonder that you have had your head in the clouds, sighing and blushing on your own at the mealtimes..!”, Bofur smiled cheerfully, and before Bilbo had the chance to correct them, everyone had already started to draw their own conclusions.

“You two kissed, right?!”

“No way, I’m sure that they did some more..! Like some little touching, grouping maybe..?”

“Or do you think that they already did some more, like-“

“Enough! It’s not your business!”, Bilbo tried, but nobody was actually listening him anymore.

“Bilbo is right. Now all of you shut up and go help Thorin and Dwalin with that prisoner. It seems that that guy knows much more than we first thought.”, Balin came to the kitchen, saving Bilbo from all those awkward questions. 

“Thank you Balin..!”, Bilbo sighed as the others left the room.

“Anytime Bilbo, anytime.”, Balin smiled and helped himself with a glass of wine. But then that smile on his face changed to a little smirk.

“So… Did something happen?”

“Oh no! Not you too!”, Bilbo hid his face on his palms and sighed.

“Why do I get the feeling that everyone here thinks that there is something going on between me and Thorin? I mean, what would a man like Thorin see in a middle age, fat and dull guy like me?!”, Bilbo asked as he shook his head.

“Now now, Bilbo! You’re not middle age, fat nor dull! I’m twice as your age and even I don’t feel like an old man either..!”, Balin protest.

“And you certainly aren’t fat! You’re just sweetly soft from the right places! You look so cuddly all the time!”, Bombur assert, making Bilbo almost blush a little.

“And after you came to this house, there haven’t been a dull moment..!”, they both laughed, and Bilbo was forced to admit that his life in Durin’s had been very adventurous. 

“You got so much in you, Bilbo. A person like you would do a good for Thorin, you already have. So if something lovely happened between the two of you back then, we’re all very happy and excited to hear about it.”, Balin explained, but Bilbo still didn’t quite understand why Thorin had acted the way he had on that evening. 

“Well… Umm… I’m sorry to disappoint you but I think that nothing really mattering happened between us.”, Bilbo stated, trying to make clear that this was the end of their conversation about this matter. 

Balin and Bombur respected this, and till the dinner time they didn’t speak a word about Thorin. 

 

And after making that dinner, nobody got the chance to eat it right in time. As Bilbo was about to serve the food, Dwalin rushed in the kitchen, telling them all to come and have a talk with Thorin.

“We finally managed to make that guy talk. And it seems that we’re going to have a chat with Smaug sooner than we thought..!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so grateful to you all for the comments, kudos, bookmarks and views! I'm so sorry that I'm novadays too busy to answer anything, and even if I'd have a time, I probably wouldn't know how to aswer anything, I'm pretty slow... But thank you all, and I'm so sorry that this chapter was a little bit boring (no bagginshield...)... But! I promise that there will be much more romance too, so please keep reading!


	29. For you...

Bilbo knew that he couldn’t escape from seeing Thorin forever. 

 

But thank lord that this was about the business. 

 

“That guy was apparently waiting for some sort of preferment from Smaug. He told us that he is supposed to call Smaug’s henchman today, who will tell him when and where to meet Smaug. If we look the documents and information we have gained before, we can highly assume that this guy is going to meet Smaug in his very own mansion, which location we already know. But now, if one of us takes that guy’s place, we will have the way in to get in his house without giving him a chance to have any suspicions. Then, when we are sure what he really is hiding, we can make a perfect plan to destroy him.”

Everyone started to cheer, expect Bilbo of course who tried his very best to focus on Thorin’s words instead of staring at the lips that were speaking. Gosh, why he couldn’t stop thinking that... That kiss even in a times like this, when they were in middle of the meeting, discussing how to destroy their worst enemy.

“It will be Bilbo’s job, of course. After all, isn’t that why we hired him in the first place?”, Gloin said and Bilbo jumped when he heard that his name was spoken. 

“Yes of course, he is the only one who isn’t familiar to Smaug in a any way. Besides, Bilbo is the only one of us who is the same height as the guy who Smaug is expecting. He is the only one who we can disguise to look like him.”, Dwalin nodded, and Bilbo understood that now he was finally have to show his true burglar-skills to these guys. 

“What I need to do..?”, Bilbo asked, surprising himself for not being so nervous as he could be.

“I think that at first you will have to make that phone call to that henchman and agree about that meeting.”, Balin said and then asked his brother to give Bilbo their prisoner’s cellphone. 

Then Balin started to explain Bilbo what he needed to say and how. This took all of Bilbo’s concentration, so he didn’t notice how Dwalin leaned closer to Thorin and whispered:

“Why you frown like that? This is the reason why we hired him, this is his job.”

“I know. I just… We don’t know what Smaug would do to him if everything doesn’t go according to the plan.”

“If something happens, we will be there to save Bilbo, you said so yourself.”

Thorin only nodded, but Dwalin knew that Thorin wasn’t going to sleep peacefully his nights before this whole thing was over.

 

\--------------------

 

Everybody hold their breath as the phone was beeping. 

“Are you sure that our prisoner told us the truth?”, Dori whispered to Dwalin and Thorin.

“We made it clear that he will face a painful death if he lies.”, Dwalin calmly answered. And Bilbo was pretty sure that the man wasn’t lying; when Balin had gave the phone to Bilbo, he had noticed that there were a few bloodstains on it, as well there was some in Dwalin’s clothes too. If their prisoner was a clever type, he would have used all his tricks before all the nasty things that had been done him.

Then, someone answered the phone.

_“Hi.”_

“Hi..! I’m H.”, Bilbo said as calmly as he could as he presented himself with the codename that Balin had told him to say. 

_“I’m B. My boss will be waiting to see you here in next Wednesday. You know the address?”_

“Yes. What time?”

_“At six pm. I will wait you there. Bye.”_

Then that mysterious B ended the conversation. 

“Well, our prisoner did not lie after all! He told us his codename and about the previous phone call when he had get that address. Seems like Bilbo is going to help us to end this all in Wednesday!”, Balin smiled and then everyone were cheering again, this time everyone expect Thorin. And Bilbo wasn’t actually cheering, he smiled awkwardly as everyone hugged and patted him on the shoulder.

There was no backing now. This was the reason why these guys wanted him to join in their group in a first place, the reason why they ever needed him as their burglar.

But Bilbo wasn’t a real burglar. But it seems that he had become a one since he wasn’t afraid of what was ahead, only nervous. 

“I’m doing this for you…”, Bilbo thought and let his eyes to wander in the room, looking every single one of his friends. Then he locked his eyes at Thorin.

 

“For you…”

 

“Okay, we need to start the preparations right now. We only got one week, after all.”, Thorin ordered and told everyone else to leave the room expect Bilbo and Balin. Thorin needed to make sure that Bilbo knows what to do, and give him time to get familiar with his becoming cover story. 

 

\------------------

 

It was already a midnight when they finally finished with all the planning. 

“So to put it short: You dress up like that guy Smaug is expecting, use this remaining week to get familiar to his background with Ori so you could be as convincing as needed. When you go and meet that B, we will be somewhere near and watch over you. Ori will also attach a small camera on your clothes, so we will be there to save you if something unexpected happens with Smaug.” Balin summed and gave Bilbo the pile of papers which had all the details written down for him.

“I think that this is all for today… Or rather for tonight. Goodnight, Bilbo.”, Balin then smiled and Bilbo nodded thankfully to him.

“Goodnight, Balin. Goodnight Thorin…”, Bilbo wished for them as he left the room.

When his office’s door closed, Thorin sighed and was about to tell Balin to go and have his sleep too. But Balin wanted to hear some answers.

“Now, what was that all about?”

“What..?”, Thorin really didn’t had no idea what his friend was talking about.

“ “If one of us takes this guy’s place”, you said. From the start it was clear that Bilbo is the man for this job. Why you hesitate now?”

“I’m not hesitating..!”

“You’re worried about him, we all are. But we also trust him. After he saved you from Azog I thought that he gained your trust too. And he is not alone, we are there for him if he needs help.”

“I know, I know…”, Thorin was reluctant to talk about this matter. Of course he trusted Bilbo, but his worry was much greater than that trust. Smaug was unpredictable; Thorin could only imagine what kind of horrors could happen to Bilbo if his cover was blown. 

“Thorin. What exactly happened between you and Bilbo in that evening?”, Balin asked with his “I’m not going to let you get away from this”-voice. 

“… I wanted to see those scars that Azog had caused him… I don’t know why they bothered me so much… I thought I just want to see them so I know that he is alright now.”

“ I understand. You used to be like that when Fili and Kili were younger, always wanting to see those wounds so you could be sure that they weren’t nothing serious.”, Balin smiled, fondly thinking back the old times.

“I know… But this time I wasn’t only feeling concern. There was also something… Something like anger, restless and annoying..!”

Balin let Thorin to think a little before asking how the story continued.

“He let me see them… And he was okay, he will recover just fine… But to know that he will forever have that scar on his leg, the scar….”

“The scar that is not made by me…”, was what he wanted to say, but decided not to. 

“Is that all? You looked at his wounds and that was it?”, Balin wanted to know, but Thorin needed some answers too.

“You have talked with him, haven’t you? What did he say?”, Thorin tried to ask without using his threatening voice.

“He said that nothing really mattering happened.”, Balin answered truthfully, and suddenly Thorin felt something very heavy on his chest.

“Then nothing really happened. Goodnight Balin.”, Thorin said, holding back his voice so he wouldn’t reveal his true feelings; so, for Bilbo nothing what had happened wasn’t really mattering. 

Thorin was just about to leave the office, but Balin stopped him again.

“You know what you feel for him, we all know. Expect him, he is even more lost than you are, I can see that. Don’t run away from this, just tell him how you feel.”

“I’m not running away.”, Thorin answered shortly, and then left the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you all for comments, kudos, bookmarks and views! I love you all! <3


	30. Just little things

Saturday morning had never been so depressing. 

“Only four days left…”, he sighed and looked out of the window how the grey sky painted the landscape.

If Bilbo could ask for something now, he would want to have a big, proper window instead of a little hand-sized square on the wall. But to have big shiny windows wasn’t very good for a gangster-family; they would show too much what happened inside of the house.

The second thing that he would like to have now was some more rest. The past two days he had almost stayed up for the whole day and night when he was preparing himself for his biggest task as a burglar. He now knew that he was supposed to play a role of a minor criminal, who had smuggled guns for Smaug’s guards only for a short time. He himself didn’t know why Smaug had wanted to meet him personally, there hadn’t never been any flaws in his shipments. But as Thorin, Dwalin and Balin had had some… Well, not so no-violent chats with him, they could all agree that their prisoner wasn’t the smartest man in the world. And maybe that was the reason why Smaug could need his help, because nobody could suspect that his kind of guy could have something to do with the dangerous gangsters. 

So Bilbo’s role was pretty simple. That’s why everyone had agreed that he should use this weekend just for relaxing. But Bilbo had promised that he would be the one to make the breakfast today instead of Bombur, who needed to train his fighting and shooting skills with others. That’s why he said goodbye for his long good night’s sleep and was getting ready for cooking. 

 

The kitchen of this house was actually his favorite place here. Not only because there all the delicious food was made, but also because there was this one big window to the backyard. He didn’t feel so trapped inside when he could see outside, that’s why he spent so much time in the kitchen or in the third floor’s balcony. 

 

“Way to go, Kili!”

 

Bilbo jumped a little when he heard voices from an open window. 

“Oh, so Fili and Kili are already awake…”, he thought as he peered out of the window.

The young brothers were there, Fili with a small knife and Kili with his bow. Apparently Kili had almost hit the target this time, ‘cause on a tree, next to the red painted circle was a clumsily shot arrow.

“Someday I will hit that target!”, Kili vowed and gained a hearty chuckle from his brother.

“Sure you will. And then uncle will have to admit that bows and arrows are as good weapons as guns, knives and swords.”

“They’re even better..! An arrow and bow won’t make any sound like gun, so you can be like an invisible killer!”, Kili boasted.

“Well yes, but it’s harder to move invisibly with a big bow and pile of arrows…”, Fili added, smirking his brother who just rolled his eyes.

Then Fili sat on the grass and pulled gently his brother down to sat between his legs. Fili combed Kili’s dark hair with his fingers and spoke with quiet and low voice, so Bilbo couldn’t hear anymore what they were saying.

“I know you’re getting good at archery, but… Please take a gun with you too on Wednesday, please?”

“What, are you worried about me?”, Kili leaned his back to his brother’s chest and chuckled.

“Always. I have every reason to be.”

“You’re as restless as I am, brother.”

“But you’re more suicidal.”

“I’m not suicidal..!”, Kili laughed and felt how Fili hugged him very tight against his chest, then placed a kiss on Kili’s neck. Then Kili turned around and kissed his brother firmly on the lips.

“We will be fine…”, he breathed out and after Fili’s nod they kissed again, holding each other very tightly.

 

Like I said, Bilbo couldn’t hear what the boys were saying, but he still saw that kissing and hugging. Quickly Bilbo moved further from the window and felt a little blush on his cheeks.

“Did I just saw something that I wasn’t supposed to..?”, he thought, not knowing how openly those two brothers were together. The idea felt weird for him for a while, until he just decided that it wasn’t his business and as long as those two were happy he would be happy for them. 

 

\----------------------------

 

Bilbo was told that on these training days everyone forgot their regular meal times, even Bombur. So after he had made that breakfast Bilbo leaved his cooking on the side table, so everyone could come and eat whenever they liked the best. 

Now he could have gone and get some more sleep, but he felt much more awake after all that cooking. He had occasionally seen some of the Durin’s family members on the backyard and heard them from the other rooms, but hadn’t actually spoken to anybody in a whole day. Well, the day was still very young, it was still morning. And some of that fresh morning air would do good for him instead of just sitting inside the house.

Because Bilbo didn’t want to bother anybody, he went to his second favorite place of that house, in to the balcony and enjoyed when the cool air blow through his hair.

Bilbo had heard a few gunshots through the morning, so he didn’t surprised much when he heard some more below the balcony, when Dwalin was teaching Ori how to shoot.

At first Bilbo thought that he should wish them a good morning and wave, but then he heard how Ori called Dwalin just Dwalin instead of “mister Dwalin” like he had always done.

“I’m sorry that you have to use your time for teaching me, Dwalin.”, Ori apologized.

“You know I don’t mind at all. Besides, I want to make sure that you learn from the best, your brothers shooting techniques aren’t the best ones I have seen. Nori is too hasty and Dori is too prudent.”

Ori couldn’t deny that, so he just nodded as Dwalin continued.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound rude, little one. Your brothers are still very good and irreplaceable fighters.”, Dwalin added a little smile on his face and patted Ori on the shoulder.

“I know. I must admit that training with you is much more fun than with Nori, but don’t tell him that, I don’t want to offend him…”, Ori admitted and then Dwalin laughed a little.

“I won’t tell him, I promise. And it’s a pleasure to train with you, you’re a fast learner.”

Then Dwalin started to drown Ori into the compliments, and that made Ori blush hard. Ori mumbled his “thank you” with a quiet voice, trying to hide his face by looking at the grass. Dwalin chuckled and lifted his little lover’s face to look at his, and when they kissed Bilbo knew that his presence wasn’t needed here. Slowly and very quietly he walked out from the balcony, making sure that he wasn’t seen or heard by those two lovebirds.

“Were they all supposed to train or cuddle?”, he thought, but agreed that those two would made a cute and adorable couple. 

 

\-------------

 

Bilbo was thankful that Durin’s yard was large; he could still enjoy some fresh air by walking outside without bothering anybody’s shooting or battle-training. And even thought seeing so much happiness and love around him gladdened his heart, he would feel much less awkward when he let those sweethearts to be alone. When Bilbo had seen from a door gap how Nori leaned a little bit too close to Bofur when they were having a little drinking break, he decided that he wouldn’t witness any more kisses and cuddling for today.

Then Bilbo noticed something, something that was divergent in the green flat grass-yard. Something very disheveled but at the same time it was very lovely and familiar to him.

 

A small garden.

 

It looked like it had once been loved and taken care of, but the one who had planted all those pretty little flowers had abandon it a long time ago. How sad, it would have looked so nice to have some colorful flowers here, Bilbo thought. But then again, if he just picked out the weeds that alone would do wonders to that garden..!

Bilbo was wearing one of his best outfits, but he couldn’t wait. He kneeled on the ground and started to clean the garden from the weeds and sticks, enjoying the feeling of the soil in his hands. He had almost forgotten how much he enjoyed this, and started to miss his own garden back home.

Oh yeah, he would be able to return home soon. When Thorin has destroyed Smaug, Bilbo would have no more a reason to be here with him and others. 

He would be able to return back to his home, live like he had always used to: 

Spend his days alone when Frodo was in school. 

Drink his afternoon tea in that little bistro and have his own garden to take care of.

He would have all that back soon..!

 

…

 

For some reason, he wasn’t feeling so excited.

Oh no, no way! That doesn’t mean that he would have preferred to stay here, no way! These guys were criminals, Mafiosos and they were capable to do a murder! Even if they were his friends, this friendship would end as soon as his job was done! He would be happy when all this was just a memory.

Or at least he should have been happy…

“Come on! You’re Bilbo Baggins, you have lived your life without adventures and you don’t need more than this one you’re now having! Safe and peaceful life is what you need and what you want! You just feel down when you think… Not these people and their exciting life, just…”, Bilbo ended his outburst with a sigh and fumbled the weeds on his hands. 

“What are you doing here?”

Bilbo jumped when he heard Thorin’s voice behind him. Somehow he felt more embarrassed for letting Thorin see him in soil-dirtied clothes than thinking he might just had heard Bilbo’s spoken aloud thoughts. 

“I… I didn’t know that you had a garden… Well, used to have a garden here. Had I known that I would have make it blossom sooner.”, Bilbo started to pat the dirt off from his clothes.

“Dis planted those flowers when she still lived here. At first it looked kinda nice, but my sister doesn’t have a green thumb, so the plants died pretty fast… And when she moved out, none of us didn’t had any time to look after it.”

“Oh, I see… Well, uhm… What are you doing here then, I hope I’m not bothering your training..?”

Thorin shook his head and told how Balin and Oin had forced him to take a short break so he wouldn’t overstrain himself.

“I heard your voice from here and… Well, came to say hello…”

If Bilbo had had the courage to look Thorin eye to eye, he would have seen how faint blush painted Thorin’s serious face. But Bilbo was too busy to hid his own reddened face from his boss. He hadn’t been alone with Thorin since that… That scene in the pantry… 

Bilbo tried so hard to think something to talk about, just something small and harmless. But Thorin broke the silence by asking what Bilbo had talking to himself earlier.

“Umm, it’s… Nothing important really... I just thought that this all will be over soon.”

“If you do your job properly, that’s it…”, Thorin resisted the urge to say. He knew that he should start to speak nicer if he didn’t want to scare his burglar off. 

“Yes. If you want, we can now speak about your salary.”, Thorin said instead of that rude comment. He knew that he sounded very dry and a little bit too businesslike. Well, the truth was that he had wanted to avoid this conversation with Bilbo, since it reminded him that the man was living with them only because he had hired him.

Oh yeah, now it all came back to Bilbo too. But never once he had thought money when he started to be Durin’s burglar. 

“I think that I told you this before, but I don’t care about money, and I don’t need more than I already have.”

It wasn’t too nice for either of them to wake those memories from that day in the woods. Thorin needed to think his next words carefully, so that he wouldn’t offend the other again. 

“Then if it’s not money, what do you want? ”, Thorin asked, adding that he wouldn’t allow Bilbo to work for free.

“I think I’m fine just like this. You know, I help you because I want to, not because I want to gain something from it.”

And Bilbo meant it. At first he would give anything to get away from this house and these people, but in the end he had stayed because he wanted to help them. And he had always been taught that one doesn’t expect a prize when they’re helping someone who is in trouble. 

“But oh..! There is a one thing I would like to ask..!”, an idea came to his mind.

Thorin stiffened and couldn’t help but think that his burglar would want something especially from him, but he didn’t expect Bilbo’s request to be so simple.

“When I leave, I would like that someone would take care of this garden. It is a pity that a house this big doesn’t have anything but a grass around it.”

No need to be a psychic to know that Thorin felt disappointed after hearing that. But he didn’t have time to dwell on that disappointment for too long when he already got curious.

“This garden? Why would you care about it after you’re gone?”

“Well, I love my own garden, and I know what kind of joy a well-kept garden could bring.”, Bilbo explained and reached to pluck off a one weed again. When Thorin didn’t answer anything, Bilbo turned to look at him and saw how puzzled Thorin looked. 

“I really mean it, you know… That it’s nice to wake up in the morning, take a walk in the garden and smell the scent of the flowers. Or when you need to think something, relax or want to have fun with friends… You can do all that in the garden. And it gives you a great happiness to see those first little flowers after all that hard work and love you have given to them. To see all those colors and shapes they have just… Just makes you happy.”, Bilbo ended his speech by adding an adoring smile on his lips, but since he was now looking at the messy garden, thinking of how beautiful it could be someday, Thorin couldn’t admire his face.

“They’re just flowers…”, Thorin spoke, still being a little bit skeptic and not quite believing Bilbo’s words. Flowers were pretty, but he had never missed or needed pretty things.

“I know that they’re just little things, but the little things make life great. Like the sun after storm, laughter with friends, the caring blowing wind at the seashore, the scent of the flowers… I probably sound cheesy right now, but without these little things it would be much harder to keep going on when you’re still chasing after your greatest dream.”, Bilbo now looked again carefully to Thorin, only to make sure that this man who often wanted to put the price tag on everything had understood what Bilbo just said.

And when Thorin saw that faint smile… Yes, something in his heart melted. He felt like he was in a shock, unable to say anything. He could just stare, stare at his lovely, gently smiling burglar.

Bilbo wasn’t sure what the look in Thorin's face meant, but he didn’t dare to stare the man long enough to find out. He looked at the garden again, now feeling enough confident to say the following:

“And well… I guess I’m being a bit selfish here too… I kinda thought that maybe then the flowers here would remind you all from me, if I’m the one who asked you to take care of them…”

Bilbo felt that he might have been just a little bit too blunt by saying something like that, so before Thorin had a chance to say anything he stormed off, mumbling something about preparing lunch.

That something that was melting in Thorin’s heart kept on warming, but after that warm he felt a sharp sting in his chest. Like a feel of a guilt.

He had told himself many times that he should just suffocate his feelings. That he seriously didn’t want to cancel this whole operation just so that he could be sure of Bilbo’s safety. He had waited this kind of chance for years, and he would never find a new burglar till the Wednesday. He had never hesitated in anything, so why was he so unsure now?

And all the answers he could find for that question were always leading to a same thing, to the same person: Bilbo. To that warmhearted, kind and sweet man, who was apparently the greatest burglar in the whole world. And that didn’t make any sense; how a man like him ever ended up in this kind of businesses? The honesty was clear in his eyes when he told that he didn’t care about the money or about the other treasures. And if he didn’t do this job for the money, then why? For adventures? Well, Thorin had to admit that Bilbo was braver than he had first thought, but he was still pretty sure that Bilbo didn’t actually enjoy the feeling of danger. There was simply no reason for him to be a burglar. Thorin had buried his suspicions because everyone told him to do so and he had been busy with the other things, but now he couldn’t help but feel anxious. He needed to find out the truth.

 

Who on earth Bilbo Baggins really is?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you all for comments, kudos, bookmarks and views! I'm amazed that so many people like to read this even though I have poor english...! Thanks to you I have more motivation to learn this language and write more!


	31. Change my Life

“Are you sure that this really is necessary?”, Bilbo asked carefully as Dwalin placed the gun back in his hand.

“Yeah. You can’t take the gun with you when you meet Smaug, but if we need to come to your aid it would be good for you to know how to shoot. I can’t believe that you haven’t learned this before..!”

Bilbo explained that he was a burglar, moving quietly in the shadows, not a gangster who fired loudly with guns.

“Relax. You didn’t shoot too far from the target just now, but I’m pretty sure that I only have the time to teach you the basics. After all, you don’t seem to be as naturally talented as Ori and Fili were.”

Bilbo didn’t know was Dwalin trying to cheer him up or the other way round. Well, if he just focused on shooting and did his best, Dwalin would leave him alone.

“Just a few hours more…”, Bilbo thought as Dwalin told him to aim again.

“Or would you prefer to use a bow or a knife like Kili does? You know, with a knife you would have to be very close to enemy and that bow is just ridiculous in these days..!”, Dwalin huffed, getting angry  by reminding himself what kinds of accidents Kili had caused with his arrows.

When Bilbo was ready to try and shoot again, he was so happy that Ori had decided to join them with his laptop. The young boy would smile and praise him even if Bilbo shot badly, and even though he knew that that wouldn’t help him to learn how to use a gun, it made him feel a little bit better. He inhaled as he took the aim, and was just about to pull the trigger until…

Oh yes, an arrow flew over his shoulder, almost hitting his target as it stopped at the tree.

“Sorry!”, they heard Kili’s shout from somewhere behind them.  

Bilbo was secretly very thankful to Kili and his badly aimed arrows, because they kept Dwalin busy with scolding and chasing after the trouble-brothers, and Bilbo was able just to sat down with Ori and have a nice little chats.

“Poor Kili, this was already the third time today when he got Dwalin after him..!”

“If he manages to do that twice more, he will break his record.”, Ori chuckled.

“Let’s hope he will… I would like to spent my day rather like this..!”, Bilbo lied down on the grass, looked at the blue sky and closed his eyes.

 

 ------------------

 

Thorin had been watching Bilbo’s shooting practice from his office’s little window. Bilbo’s non-existent shooting-skills only worsen his suspicions. Maybe Bilbo was quick and little, but he was also pretty clumsy. How he had survived with criminals till today without using a gun even once?

The whole morning he had just been locked inside of his office, reading over and over again the report that Ori had wrote when he was researching Bilbo.  When Thorin had read it for the first time, he didn’t pay much attention into the details; he only wanted to make sure that Gandalf had told him the truth when he said that Bilbo Baggins wasn’t seemingly connected to the underworld, and everyone just thought him as a dull, regular guy. The second time when Thorin read that report, he was doing so for a very selfish reason; he wanted to check that Bilbo wasn’t having a relationship, that he wasn’t married or something like that. Not that Thorin would care much, of course..! He was just curious. Or so he had told himself.

If Bilbo was a real burglar, he had masterfully kept his criminal life hidden from his relatives, even from his nephew. So this third time when Thorin was reading that report over and over again, he tried to find even a small crack from Bilbo’s perfect cover.

“Nobody can be this smart… There must be something suspicious…”, Thorin muttered to himself.

But the only suspicious thing he could find was that there wasn’t anything suspicious in Bilbo’s life. And when those papers couldn’t give him the answer, he knew that he would have to do the thing he had wanted to avoid.

“You’re the one who sent him to me, so you’re the one doing the explaining…”, Thorin said as he dialed Gandalf’s number, wanting to know how even “the wizard” had been able to find that burglar for him.

 

 ------------------------

 

 

Eventually Dwalin had given up from teaching any shooting skills to Bilbo. The reason for that was that Bilbo just wasn’t capable to learn anything about guns when Kili kept harassing them with his arrows. So it seemed that Bilbo had just gained a free afternoon and evening for himself, and he decided to start his relaxing by walking around the house, thinking of what he should say to Frodo when he next called him.

Not after too long he heard footsteps behind him, and turned around with a smirk.

“You managed to lost Dwalin, right?”

Kili smiled and told how Fili was keeping the older man busy for a moment.

“Sometimes I don’t get it how a man in his age can run so fast…! He almost caught me this time.”

“Dwalin isn’t that old, you know. Only few years older than me.”, Bilbo rolled his eyes and Kili immediately apologized.

“Damn! Somehow I always think that you’re just a few years ahead of me..! You’re so small and cute.”, Kili flashed his flirting smile, and then he sat down on the grass,  advising Bilbo to do the same.

“Don’t you try to change the topic..! You know that I’m grateful to you for interrupting my shooting lessons, but I still think that that bow of yours is gonna kill someone someday..!”, Bilbo scolded as he sat down next to the younger boy.

“I know, everyone keep telling me the same. But if I don’t practice, I can’t get any better.”

Bilbo watched how caring Kili was touching his bow, looking it with a smile on his lips. It was like seeing a child playing with his favorite toy.

“Why do you even want to use the bow? I haven’t seen anyone else even having one here.”, Bilbo asked, thinking that Kili must have a special reason for his attachment of that certain weapon.

“Well, it’s a long story…”, Kili started, not wanting to bore Bilbo.

“I’m not in hurry.”, Bilbo smiled and then Kili started the explaining, smiling even more generously than before.

“You know, my brother was just twelve years old when our uncle and Dwalin started to teach him how to shoot. I was so jealous, of course, but mother didn’t let me train with Fili. She didn’t even like the idea that he was using guns in such a young age… Anyway, when it was my birthday, my brother bought me a bow. It was only a toy, plastic-made, of course. But it cheered me up, really! I felt that I was doing some real training when I shot with it. At first everyone thought that I was just cute and funny when I said that a bow is as good weapon as a gun. And after a few years I had finally saved enough money to buy this, a real bow by myself..! Well, okay, I needed a little bit help from Nori, they didn’t sell these things for underaged kid as I was back then… But when uncle found out about that, he started immediately teach me how to shoot with the gun! I heard from Balin that he once had a schoolmate who draw an archery bow, and since uncle hated that guy (Thranduil was his name, I think…), he was horrified for me to do the same.

Of course I like the firearms too, but somehow I feel that this is more like my thing… And someday I will prove it to everybody, you can be sure about that…!”

Bilbo had enjoyed thoroughly this whole time, watching Kili’s face lighting up as the boy spoke about something that was important for him.

“You think I’m stupid, right?”, Kili shrugged his shoulders as he turned his gaze from his bow to Bilbo.

“No, I think you’re great.”, Bilbo smiled back. He had wanted to say “you’re cute” just to tease the boy, but decided to be merciful.

“I’m sure that if you try your hardest, you will definitely make them all see how strong your bond is to that bow. But I must leave now, I need to call for my nephew before it gets too late.”, Bilbo stood up and was just about to wave goodbye to Kili when the boy said the following:

“Are you gonna tell him that you’re coming back home soon?”

Bilbo blinked his eyes as he looked Kili. The boy’s eyes revealed that he was more sad than happy now, even though he wore still that smile of his.

“Well… Maybe… Yes… I suppose that I will return soon, before the next week ends.”

“We all gonna miss you.”, Kili’s smile got wider, but more sadder at the same time. Oh well, Bilbo probably couldn’t answer anything like “we can meet sometimes” or “I will surely call once in a month”; it just didn’t sound very right when you’re talking to Mafioso.

“I will miss you all too.”, Bilbo tried to smile as he left Kili to sit there, returning back to his own room and called Frodo.

 

 

 

 

\------------------------ 

 

 

 

_“Thorin! I haven’t heard from you for ages! How are you?”_

“Finally, finally you cared to answer! What the hell have you been doing there, I have tried to call you for hours!”

_“Just so you know, you’re not the only one who needs my help time to time..!”_

Thorin was extremely frustrated after those three hours he had spent when trying to get Gandalf to answer his calls. He wasn’t on a mood for chatting; he never was with Gandalf, actually. And even though Gandalf knew that, he almost expected that this time Thorin would like to talk about something else than work, or so he had hoped.

 _“I must admit that I was pretty surprised when you didn’t tried to call me earlier, but I think that it just means that my plan has worked just like it should.”,_ Gandalf said and Thorin could hear from his voice how the man was wearing a smug smile.

“I want to know where you found that burglar you sent to me.”, Thorin demanded, not caring about what plan Gandalf was talking about.

_“What..?”_

“What do you mean “what?”! I want to know how even you managed to find me this man, when there is absolutely nothing, not even a slightest string that would connect him to any criminal?! At first I didn’t care how you would find that burglar for me, but I need to know it now!”

_“Wait, are we talking about Bilbo Baggins here?”_

“Whom else? He’s the one you told me about, right?”

_“Thorin… Don’t tell me that you have kept him there this whole time and made him work for you as a burglar..?!”_

“What do you mean? Of course he is working for me as a burglar! You yourself said that he is the one I need and keeping him near me will change my life..!”

_“Are you an idiot?! Yes, he is the one you need and he will change your life, but I didn’t expect you to believe that he is a real burglar..!”_

“What the hell?! Then why did you-“

_“Enough! I’ll come there as soon as possible! I hope that mister Baggins is still in a one piece and there is no harm done to him!”_

Before Gandalf had the chance to finish his sentence, Thorin had already hung up. He rubbed his head and tried to calm down, tried to swallow his anger before he would do something reckless.

 

In vain.

 

\----------------

 

 

 _“Yeah, me too. But uncle, my curiosity is killing me! Why won’t you tell me who is this person who is stealing all your time?”,_ Frodo wanted to know as he was finishing his phone call with Bilbo.

“I will tell that to you later. But right now I want that you keep your thoughts in school. I’ll call you again before the next week. Goodnight Frodo.”

_“Goodnight uncle.”_

Bilbo sighed as he placed his phone back on the little table beside his bed. He was going to tell Frodo that he will return home next week, but somehow he couldn’t. Like saying it to his nephew would make it real, and he wanted to live with this lie for a little longer. He knew that he would spend another night awake while thinking of reason why.

“I’m a terrible person, aren’t I..?”, he said to himself as he sat down on the bed. But then he heard how heavy footsteps were approaching his room, and when his door flew open Bilbo jumped up and stuttered.

“Tho-Thorin..?”

Thorin stared at him, blue eyes narrowed from the anger. When he closed the door after him, Bilbo could hear the sound of it locking. Only with a few steps he had walked in front of Bilbo, towering over him and slowly said the following words, making Bilbo go all pale and he felt that he couldn’t breathe.

“I know that you’re not a real burglar.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhanger..!  
> This chapter is a bit longer, mostly because I'm afraid that I won't be able to update this fic too soon again, might take couple of weeks since I have holiday coming..! But! I promise that there will be at least one chpater more before this month ends! 
> 
> And thank you all again for the comments, kudos, bookmarks and views! All these things mean much for me!


	32. Till I met you

“I know that you’re not a real burglar.”

Bilbo tried to speak, give some kind of explanation. But all he managed to do was to open his mouth and stammer sentences like “I’m so sorry”, “I didn’t mean to” and “the reason why I did this…”, until Thorin made him silent with his freezing gaze.

“I don’t want to hear any excuses.”

Thorin’s voice was full of anger and hurt, and they felt like a stab in Bilbo’s heart.

“I-I’m s-so sorry… But I was a-afraid that y-you would- ouch! “

Thorin pressed his palm on Bilbo’s mouth and pushed him down on the bed, hovering over the smaller man.

“I said no excuses.”, he repeated.

Of course Thorin would like to have some kind of explanation for this all, but since he wasn’t willing to hear one from Gandalf why would want to hear one from Bilbo?  

Knowing that Bilbo wouldn’t dare to speak anymore, Thorin moved his hand from the man’s mouth and grabbed both Bilbo’s wrists and tugged them above his head.

Bilbo blinked his widened eyes rapidly; the images of that time when he was tied up on that table and Azog’s hook and hand were all over him came back to his mind immediately.

“Tho-“, Bilbo tried, but Thorin still wasn’t in a mood for listening.

“No more talking…”, he thought as he grabbed Bilbo from the chin, leaned down and kissed the smaller man forcefully.

After the initial shock Bilbo tried to squirm himself free, but when he moved Thorin’s hold only became stronger and eventually he pressed his other hand on Bilbo’s chest to hold him down.

 

Thorin was blinded by anger and the only thought in his mind was that why would he care anymore? He had restrained himself before because Bilbo was his burglar, being with Thorin only because he had a work to do. But Bilbo wasn’t what he had claimed to be, he wasn’t a real burglar… And if Bilbo wasn’t _his burglar_ , he would then only be _his_.

So maybe Bilbo hadn’t been wrong when he had thought Thorin as a greedy man.

Just when Bilbo was sure that he couldn’t breathe anymore, Thorin pulled away and just watched Bilbo’s gasping. If he would have been able to think rationally he would have hated himself for enjoying when seeing that panic in Bilbo’s eyes.

To enjoy some more, he tore Bilbo’s shirt off and caressed his chest, making Bilbo wriggle and twist.

Then Thorin’s eyes met that scar on his shoulder. He now too remembered Azog, and his anger doubled.

“Tho-Thorin! What are you… Uah!”

Thorin licked and bit the flesh around the scar, like wanting to replace it with his own mark.

“Stop…”, Bilbo whimpered, but speaking just caused Thorin to pin him harder against the mattress.  

Thorin moved his lips down on Bilbo’s chest, leaving bruising kiss marks all over his upper body. Bilbo gasped when Thorin pinched his nipples, and the moan he let out made Thorin smile wickedly.

Then Thorin let go of his wrists, and Bilbo immediately placed his hands on Thorin’s shoulders, trying to push the man off him. But Thorin barely noticed Bilbo’s attempts to stop him.

Bilbo would have screamed, but his voice was lost. He tried to open his mouth for speaking. Thorin lifted his gaze and when Bilbo saw those ice-blue eyes looking right through him he was only able to whimper quietly.

“You lied to me.”, Thorin stated, voice steady and calm, but Bilbo knew he was angry.

“I-I’m sor- Ah!“

Bilbo’s short nails buried themselves deeper in Thorin’s shoulders when the man roughly tugged Bilbo’s trouser down and caressed the scar on his thigh with his rough fingers.

Bilbo winced every time as Thorin moved his hand up and down on his leg, pressing hard on the scar. But he really got scared when he felt how Thorn’s hand slipped inside his boxers.

“Stop..! Thorin please!”

Bilbo’s voice started to became weak and breathy as Thorin touched him, holding Bilbo’s waste with his other hand. Yes, Bilbo knew that Thorin would be angry if he finds out that Bilbo had been lying, but he didn’t understood why Thorin was reacting like this, doing things like this to him.

“Stop…”, he pleaded again, but Thorin didn’t even hear his voice.

Thorin was pleased in the way how Bilbo was reacting to his touch. He wanted to make him squirm more, so he released his hand from Bilbo’s member.

For a second Bilbo thought that Thorin had come to his senses, but then Thorin’s hand slid downwards…

“Stop!”

Again, Bilbo’s pleads had the opposite reaction. Thorin’s anger got some sort of satisfaction when he heard those helpless screams, when Bilbo tried to push him away and when the smaller man was twisting under him.

 

 

 

Then suddenly he noticed that Bilbo wasn’t screaming, twisting or pushing him away anymore.

 

“…stop it please…”

 

Bilbo had covered his tear soaked face with his hands, gasped air quietly and whimpered his pleads with a thin voice.

“stop…”

Slowly Thorin removed his hand from Bilbo’s underwear and just stared the helpless little man under him. Then he felt the throbbing pain on his shoulders, and was surprised when he saw a little bit of blood on the places where Bilbo had buried his fingernails. But the pain on his shoulders couldn’t measure with the ache he felt in his heart.

“Bilbo..?”

No answer, he just kept sobbing and swallowing.

“Bilbo I’m…”, Thorin reached his hand to touch Bilbo’s face, but the brush of his fingertips caused Bilbo to flinch.

Thorin had never felt himself as low as he did now. No matter how angry he had got, he had no right to do something like this to Bilbo. And of course he was never supposed to try to force him in anything like this..! Because somewhere deep in his mind he had wished that Bilbo would put on a good fight, defend himself and show that he wasn’t truly the friendly, sweet man he had been till this day. That he was wicked and arrogant person who would now reveal his true face to Thorin.

But no. Bilbo Baggins might not be a burglar, but he also wasn’t anything like wicked or arrogant. Thorin had seen what Bilbo was capable to do when they had faced Azog, but he didn’t try any tricks with Thorin just now. Like he had been truly sorry of deceiving Thorin and was so shocked that he couldn’t do anything but beg for his forgiveness.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to hurt you like this… “, Thorin apologized with a sincerely voice. Then he moved out from the bed, not really knowing what to do next. He would feel even worse to leave Bilbo like this, but at the same time he was so sure that he wasn’t the right person to comfort him right now. Maybe he should just leave and give some space to Bilbo…

“I’m…”

Thorin flinched. The last thing he had expected Bilbo to do now was to speak and grab his arm.

“Thorin… I’m sorry for… For lying…”

“Don’t apologize now… I just did something much more worse to you than lying…”

“I’m sorry…”

Yes, Thorin hated himself hard right now.  

Bilbo still hadn’t let go of his arm, but Thorin could feel how his hand trembled.

“You know… We can talk about this later…”, Thorin started, and from the corner of his eye he saw how Bilbo nodded. Then Thorin’s eyes wandered on Bilbo’s chest and he was sure that those red marks he had left on him would look horrendous tomorrow.

“I’m sorry for hurting you like this…”, he said, knowing that apologize wouldn’t erase anything, but “I’m sorry” was the only sentence he felt right for saying.

Bilbo slowly lifted himself to sitting position, still holding Thorin’s arm. He was doing that unconsciously, and as crazy as it sounds, he was getting some kind of comfort from doing so.

“I’m the one who lied…”, Bilbo said quietly, his feel of guilt almost measuring with Thorin’s. He didn’t expect Thorin’s reaction to be what it was, more likely he thought that he would get punched and locked in somewhere like their prisoner. And never did he expect Thorin to apologize like this, suddenly changing from furious to repentant.

“You’re just an ordinary man, right? Never breaking law or hanging out with criminals?”, Thorin confirmed, and Bilbo nodded.

“Not till I met you… I’m… I’m just Bilbo Baggins, dull and ordinary man… A grocer, not a burglar...”, he said, swallowing between every sentence.

“For an ordinary and dull man you sure made a great burglar...”, Thorin said, and was surprised again when Bilbo chuckled a bit, thought he still wore that  sad expression but now with a thin, sorrowful smile.

“I was lousy at first wasn’t I…?”

“…A bit…”, Thorin admitted, wearing the same sad smile as Bilbo did.

 

Then their eyes met from the first time after all those horrible things had happened, and Thorin’s heart ached when he saw that repentant and sincerely look on Bilbo’s face, but he couldn’t tear his gaze away, and neither could Bilbo. 

The silent had taken over the room when they just kept staring at each other, not daring to say a word. Bilbo still held Thorin’s arm, and surprised even himself when he gently and lightly tugged that hand a little bit, just a tiniest bit closer. Thorin slowly sat down on the bed again, keeping his eyes on Bilbo’s. Then they both moved a little bit closer, slowly until their lips met again, this time kissing very gently and tenderly.

 

That kiss would probably ended by Thorin forcing himself to stop, getting quickly off from the bed and apologizing again, feeling even more quilt if Bilbo was to forgive him so fast and also hating himself more for forgiving Bilbo’s lie so easily. But that scenario didn’t had time to happen when they both jumped as Thorin’s phone rang, again right after their sweet kiss like back then in the pantry.

The loud ringtone almost hurt their ears in middle of that silence, and when Thorin’s hand found his phone from his pocket he answered it automatically.

 

_“It’s me, Balin. Gandalf is here and want’s to meet you right now. Where are you?”_

“I… Uhm, I’ll come right away…”, Thorin coughed and shut the phone. Then he turned back to look Bilbo, deciding that it would be for the best to meet Gandalf alone.

“We will talk later, I have to go now… Get some rest, will you…” Thorin said, trying to steady his voice back to its usual authoritative state.

 

And as Thorin left the room Bilbo was more confused than ever..! Thorin Durin was such a complicated man, being so angry at first but as soon as Bilbo started to cry he had stopped from forcing him. The man who had killed and tortured others stopped hurting him just after few sobs, that’s just… And Bilbo, who had endured kidnapping, who had stabbed a gangster over twice his size in the eye had been completely helpless and unable to defend himself as he saw Thorin’s blue eyes clouded with anger. Bilbo touched his own lips and felt a little cut on his lower lip; how could the same man kiss so violently but after that so very gently? And why Bilbo was almost ready to forget all those things Thorin did to him after hearing his apologizes?

“I must be crazy..!”, Bilbo sighed and threw himself back on the bed, trying to think what to do next.

 

His heart was beating rapidly and his head hurt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... Don't have much to say about this one... 
> 
> Just again, I want to THANK YOU ALL for the comments, kudos, bookmarks and views!!! I even started to write another Bagginshield fic (much shorter than this one..!), maybe someday I'll upload it here :)


	33. Sparkle in his eyes

Thorin felt and looked completely exhausted as he opened his office’s door. It didn’t surprise him to see that “the wizard” was already there, waiting for him.

“Thorin Durin! I came as soon as possible! Where were you?! You have never made me wait this long before!”

Thorin wasn’t in a mood of talking with angry agent anymore, but he knew that this would be the only time to hear an explanation for this mess. 

“Where is Bilbo?”, Gandalf demanded to know as Thorin sat down behind his desk.

“In his room… He already admitted that he is not a real burglar.”

Gandalf’s eyes widened.

“Thorin… Don’t tell me that you just marched there, accused him from lying and hurt him in some way?! You must promise me that he is alright!”

Damn. Thorin should have remembered that Gandalf had this amazing talent of reading people just by looking at their faces. But even if he hadn’t, Thorin believed that he looked guilty enough for even someone like Kili or Nori to see.

“Well I lost my temper and-“

“What did you do to him?!”

“I, umm… Nothing permanent, I think- I hope… And if I’m not totally wrong he might already have forgiven me… But wait, you’re not here to discuss about that..! Nothing would have happened if you wouldn’t have lied to me in a first place!”

“You love him, don’t you?”

Thorin almost fell off from his chair after hearing that.

“What?!”

“Please my boy! I might not myself have shared that beautiful feeling with anyone, but I have lived a long life and I have learned to know what love looks like..! Even you can’t deny that you wouldn’t have seen it in Dwalin’s eyes whenever he looked Ori, and I know you find it hard to believe but you saw that kind of love between Fili and Kili ever since they were just little boys..! You have seen how Gloin’s expression changes when he speaks about his wife, your sister’s smile when she met her husband for the first time and you don’t need to look twice to tell that there is something going on between Nori and Bofur..! You have seen that sparkle in their eyes many times, but you are too blind to notice your own feelings!”

Thorin opened his mouth for denying, but he couldn’t find the right words for that. So he just huffed and pressed his hands against his forehead. Gandalf dared to smile a little; he had won this debate.

“I’m not sure whenever he feels the same… Or if he could ever let me close again…”, Thorin sighed, not sure why Bilbo had allowed him to kiss him right after Thorin’s horrible actions.

Gandalf almost felt sorry for him. Thorin was always so strong and confident, he wasn’t this lost too often. 

“You know Thorin… When I wanted you to hire Bilbo Baggins, I didn’t think that it would be clear that you will fall in love with him, even I’m not that good matchmaker..! But I said that he would change your life, you needed a man like him by your side! I just thought that you wouldn’t trust my word when he clearly was anything but a sly criminal... Well, I expected that you would keep him near, just because I told you to do so. But I was sure that you would find another, real burglar to help you by yourself since I wasn’t doing a very good job by brining someone like mister Baggins for you. And I was more than sure that the others will grow fond of Bilbo as soon as they see him! He just has that kind of aura, just like his mother used to have. I hoped that you two could learn something from each other, especially you from him.”

“I’m afraid that your plan hasn’t worked, my old friend… I don’t think that I have yet learned anything from him, he has just made my head hurt and gave me sleepless nights…”

Gandalf smiled at that. He had waited for stating this.

“When I was on my way here, I met your nephews in the town. They told me that they were on their way to buy some food supplies, but I think the real reason was that they wanted just to get away from Dwalin… Anyway, they started to tell me what a great job I had done by finding Bilbo, how great burglar he had been and so on. I found it hard to believe, when I met Bilbo Baggins he wasn’t adventurous person at all..! I knew that you and others had changed him, probably in a good way. But then Fili pointed out something, something so very interesting about how much he had changed you..!”

Ah, Thorin’s headache just kept getting worse… Gandalf gave him a moment to think about how exactly Bilbo had changed him, but Thorin didn’t think that there was anything too visible changes in his actions.

“I don’t get it…”

“He told me that ever since Bilbo Baggins stepped inside this house, you haven’t mentioned the Arkenstone even once.”

 

Thorin’s eyes flew wide open. That stone had been a real obsession for him ever since Smaug stole it. He would have wanted to deny that he had almost, almost forgotten its existence, but he couldn’t. For a past few weeks he had just thought how to get close enough to Smaug so he could kill him, but the thought that measured with that wasn’t the obsession over the Arkenstone, it was the obsession over Bilbo Baggins; their masterful burglar who had saved his life more than once, who had helped them to track down Smaug’s men and who was now revealed to be just an ordinary fellow, but incredible strong and brave one too. 

“Now, can you still say that he hasn’t changed you?”

Gandalf had every right to be smug now. Making one from Durin’s family to shut their mouth was a real achievement. 

 

After a long silence Gandalf asked what Thorin was to do next.

“Nobody else knows that he’s not a real burglar. And I know that they wouldn’t hate him even if they did find that out. But I think that I should just let him go home and forget all about us. We were planning to attack Smaug’s hideout on Wednesday, but I can’t put him in a danger anymore. Bilbo isn’t meant for this kind of life, and I have already put him through so much.”, Thorin spoke, not exactly wanting to Bilbo disappear from his life, but what else he could do? Letting him go was the right thing to do, even if he and everyone else would hate that idea. 

 

“I’m sorry, but I won’t be going back until my job is done.”

 

Thorin and Gandalf turned to look the door. Bilbo stood there, standing as tall as he could. Then his expression changed from confident to apologetic.

“I’m sorry, I know it’s not proper to eavesdrop, but I couldn’t help it… You didn’t lock the door, and I wanted to know some things too…”

“How much you heard?”, Thorin tried to keep his cool, but he would have much rather tell Bilbo about his feelings face to face, not letting him hear them like this.

“Not much… You were saying something about that nobody else knows that I’m not a real burglar…”

Thorin breathe a sigh of relief; Bilbo hadn’t heard what they had discussed with Gandalf.

“So you’re not going to run away..? Well well, finally I can see your mother in you, Bilbo!”, Gandalf smiled happily, and Bilbo fought for not to do the same; he wanted to be angry for a little while.

“And you, you will have to explain me some things later..!”, Bilbo pointed at Gandalf, trying to sound a little tough. Then he looked Thorin again, and took a deep breath until he started to speak.

“I’m not gonna go anywhere until you have fulfilled your revenge..! I.. I don’t think that bearing grudge is a good way to live, but Smaug hurt you and your family, and that should not be forgiven..! And… And this might be your only chance… You would never find anyone else to do this job, I’m the only one who looks like that henchman..! Besides I’m already too deep in this, I don’t even think that it would be safe for me to leave now..!”

“I would make sure that Frerin’s men will protect you until I have destroyed Smaug..!”, Thorin said, voice not as steady as it should have been; Bilbo always managed to surprise him when he raised his voice. 

“Remember when I said that I will help you because I want to? Well, I meant that! You two made me to become a burglar, and now that I am the one you won’t let me do my job..!”

Even Gandalf was surprised by hearing Bilbo’s speech, but he couldn’t tell how happy he was to know that he hadn’t been wrong by connecting Bilbo’s and Thorin’s paths. 

“I promise you, Bilbo, that I will explain everything to you soon. And I will help you to end this madness!”, Gandalf promised, and gained an approving nod from Bilbo.

Then it was all silent again, until Bilbo spoke again, this time more awkwardly than before.

“Well… Umm… Looks like I have made myself clear here… So… Good, umm, I think that we can continue this tomorrow… Uh, goodnight…”, Bilbo started to stammer again, and then he slowly walked out from the room. 

Gandalf looked at Thorin whose face was priceless..! Thorin just started after Bilbo in disbelieve, mouth falling slightly open and blue eyes blinking rapidly. Gandalf chuckled and said that he would arrange himself a quest room. Then he too wished Thorin a goodnight, but before he left he flashed his knowing smirk to Thorin and said:

 

“I think I saw the sparkle in his eyes..!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU ALL for the comments, kudos, bookmarks and views! Every single one means much for me! (and sorry for making Thorin such a jerk in the last chapter... But he is regretting it, really!)


	34. Dust on the shelf

This is the day.

 

The three of them, Thorin, Gandalf and Bilbo had agreed that they would not tell about Bilbo’s true not-burglar-like identity to others; they were worried that everyone would get worry. So right now Thorin was worried for everyone over Bilbo. 

Bilbo himself had been surprisingly calm. He had stressed the whole beginning of the week, but he was feeling quite fine when he dressed himself in his disguise and when Ori attached that mini-camera in his jacket’s button placket. When they had reviewed the plan, everyone hugged Bilbo in turn and said something soothing.

“Remember that we will come to your aid right away if needed!”

“We know that you will do great!”

“Tonight we will party hard! It will be the best thing ever!”

Bilbo stiffened a little bit when it came to Thorin’s turn to wish him luck; they hadn’t actually spoke privately since Sunday, and they both were a bit unsure what was between them. Surely that kissing meant that they wouldn’t be normal friends anymore, but Thorin feared that his actions had prevented them to be ever something more. Bilbo in turn wasn’t so hurt as Thorin thought him to be, his feelings were just so mixed up; did Thorin hated him or did he felt something else? Bilbo didn’t hate him, wasn’t mad at Thorin for touching him, he knew that Thorin wasn’t a bad man. But Bilbo knew that he should at least be a little bit angry, but he couldn’t; that kiss they shared afterwards had faded away his fear and all the anger he had have.

By remembering that kiss, Bilbo’s legs started to feel a little weak, but he forced himself to smile and hug Thorin, who probably would have just handshake Bilbo instead. They both felt little tingling while they were each other’s arms, and then Thorin whispered to Bilbo’s ear:

“I believe in you… But please be careful.”

Bilbo could only nod in response, but when he stepped in the car with Gandalf he still felt that tingling all over his body, and even after hearing twelve soothing lines, he found Thorin’s words most comforting.

 

\-------------

 

“You hid it well.”

“What..?”

“You’re nervous, but only after we drove away your hands started to shake. You didn’t wanted to worry them, right?”, Gandalf pointed out.

“J-just keep your eyes on the road, not on my hands, will you..?!”, Bilbo huffed, making Gandalf chuckle a bit.

Just like Bilbo wasn’t mad at Thorin, he didn’t bear grudge against the old man who had got him in this mess, made everybody think him as a burglar and so on. It had surprised him that a harmless looking old man like Gandalf was some sort of agent, called “the wizard”, a man who knew almost everyone from the underworld and outside from it too. Bilbo was a bit angry at first, but when Gandalf asked had Bilbo enjoyed of his adventure, Bilbo was ready to protest, but in the end he realized that he indeed had enjoyed of this… This odd and dangerous adventure he had shared with Durin’s family.

Right now Bilbo and Gandalf were on their way to that place where Bilbo was supposed to meet B, that henchman of Smaug’s. Of course Gandalf would drop Bilbo enough far away so nobody would notice that he had some backup. Thorin and others were infiltrating somewhere near, watching Bilbo by that mini-camera. Microphone would have been too risky, so they had agreed that if Bilbo needed help but for some reason they didn’t saw that danger from the camera, Bilbo should just press his hand against the lens two times. Probably at least Ori was watching now the roadway from the high of Bilbo’s chest, making sure that the camera was working. 

“If it eases your nerves, we can chat about something futile if you like.”, Gandalf suggested, but Bilbo declined the offer.

“I-I’m not nervous… And if I would be, talking wouldn’t do any good, believe me…”, Bilbo said and took something out from his pocket.

 

It was the ring. 

 

It was their luck that the road ahead of them was straight and clear; otherwise they would have crashed on something, because that ring caught Gandalf’s attention right away.

“Where did you get that?”, he asked, sounding a bit more eager than he was trying to.

“Oh, this ring? I just found it from the woods some weeks ago… Thorin said that it looks worthless and that it must be, but I didn’t want to throw it away. I kept it in my pocket, just playing with it when I get bored. I think that I will keep it as a souvenir from this journey of mine.”, Bilbo smiled and showed the ring to Gandalf, letting the old man have a closer look from it.

Gandalf didn’t touch the ring, but he was sure what the value of it was. Yes, the ring looked pretty worthless, but behind that simple jewelry was very much same kind of tragedy what was behind the Arkenstone; murders and cheating, blood and tears cried because of greediness and misery. Gandalf thought that the ring was long forgotten, disappeared with the criminal named Smeagol who killed his friend for this stupid piece of metal and who was supposed have died already some time ago. 

“Do you really need a souvenir? I mean, why don’t you just stay with them and by keeping them near, you will always remember this one adventure with many upcoming others!”, Gandalf suggested with a smile, making Bilbo feel awkward again. 

“This kind of life… I-it’s just not meant for someone like me…”

“But you have enjoyed it, Bilbo! I can see that being with those men had been good for you; when we first met you probably would have called a small exception in the routine an adventure!”

Oh how Bilbo hated how right Gandalf was! 

“So, you mean that instead of keeping this ring I should just continue living with them..? I’m not too sure… I mean, I like them, they’re pretty okay for a gangsters really… But still… Maybe we’re too different, after all I’m not a burglar… I doubt that Thorin would like me to be near him after this, and others might get mad at me for lying…”

“I’m sure that you will be able to sort things out. And I’m sure that Thorin would love to have you near in future!”

Bilbo flinched when he heard the words “Thorin” and “love” in the same sentence. Gandalf nodded at that:

“Don’t you want to be near him too?”

“Ju-just sh-shut up and take this ring, okay! You’re right, I don’t need any souvenirs; they just collect dust on the shelf!”

Gandalf snatched the ring and put it in his pocket before Bilbo had the chance to change his mind; maybe Gandalf would find someone who could destroy this unlucky ring once and for all, prevent it from causing any more problems.

And not too long after that, he stopped the car, watched when Bilbo walked away and eventually disappeared somewhere among the trees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I have happy news for you! I finally have someone to beta-read this fic! Yhoretta has promised to help me, so let's be super thankful to her! :D And I will also contioune updating this fic, even though the this and the oncoming chapters have not been beta-read yet, but I will correct the mistakes later when Yhoretta has beta-read them :) 
> 
> And... Thank You All so much for comments, kudos, bookmarks and views! And sorry that this chapter is a bit boring, the action is yet to come!


	35. It will rain soon

The place where he was supposed to meet B was an old, rotten lodge near the forest. Bilbo was sure that Thorin and others were somewhere near, but he didn’t see or hear them, just like it was supposed to.

Bilbo didn’t had much time to get nervous, when he saw a man dressed in black hoodie that covered most of his face walking towards him.

“Beautiful day, isn’t it?” the man asked.

“No, it will rain soon.” Bilbo answered, just like he was supposed to. 

“Good, so you’re…?”

“H, at your service.” Bilbo said and bowed a little. 

“B. Come, I’ll take you to meet my boss.”

After B had made sure that Bilbo didn’t had gun or any other weapon, Bilbo followed B to his car. Till now everything was going according to the plan; their prisoner hadn’t lied about the secret password or the meeting place. 

They didn’t drive very long when B stopped his car and told that they were in their destination.

What Bilbo saw was a huge, enormous mansion, twice as big as Durin’s. However, B didn’t give him much time to admire it when he hurried Bilbo to step inside in the hallway.

“The last room on the left, he is waiting for you there.” B told and gestured Bilbo to walk through the dark hallway. 

It seemed that gangsters really preferred dark and long passages; it was pitch-black everywhere..! But as Bilbo’s eyes started to get used to the darkness, he noticed how time to time there were few guards leaning against walls, leering at him.

“So far so good…” Bilbo thought as he was finally standing in front of Smaug’s office. He wasn’t sure did he need to knock or just open the door, so he did both: three short knocks and then he stepped in.

The room was as dark as the hallway, maybe even darker. This worried Bilbo; if it was going to be this dark for the whole time, his friends wouldn’t see anything from the camera. 

Bilbo had already started to suspect that he was alone in the room, when he heard low and rough voice speaking:

“Three steps closer, take off your jacket and sit down.”

Bilbo did as told, and after those three steps the tip of his shoe hit lightly at the chair leg. He folded his jacket carefully and placed it on his lap, so that the others would still have a view from the camera. Then he waited for more instructions. 

After a few seconds someone lit up the little table lamp, and the room was soon filled with dim yellow light. Then Bilbo saw him, the man whose face was unknown to many. 

“Do you know why you’re here?” Smaug asked and Bilbo gulped.

He couldn’t afford to fail now.

 

\--------------

 

“It’s him…” Thorin hissed between his teeth as he saw Smaug from Ori’s laptop’s screen. After all these years he could recognize that man: Smaug was tall and about twenty years older than him, wore a long, flashy red suit and that wide, evil grin of his. 

“Take it easy. I’m trying to read what he is saying from his lips…” Balin leaned closer to the screen, but he could only recognize some little words which doesn’t told much about why he had wanted to meet one of his not-so-important henchman.

\-------------------

“I-I’m afraid th-that I have no idea…” Bilbo swallowed after his answer and Smaug seemed pleased at that.

“Good, I was told that you’re a stupid one. So, let’s not waste any time.” Smaug started to walk towards Bilbo, stopping when he was just few steps away from him.

“Lately someone has interfered my shipments. I have lost many valuable things and I heard that many of my smugglers have drop dead suddenly. And some of them were just little fishes, like you. What do you know about these things?”

“No-nothing much..! Y-you know sir, I have not served you for too long..!” Bilbo stammered and shook his head fast.

“Don’t look like I’m blaming you for something, I’m not..! “ Smaug said almost with an angry voice, making Bilbo jump little. But he needed to be brave now.

“S-so… If you don’t suspect me from anything, why I am here..?”

Now Smaug sneered, and slowly he lifted Bilbo’s jacket up, tearing the buttons off from it one by one.

“Because I know who you are, spy.”

 

\-------------

 

“What happened?! Ori?!”

“I-I don’t know mister Durin! It seems that Smaug knew about our plan..! The camera is most likely crushed!”

Thorin stood up and looked through the trees at Smaug’s mansion.

“We must go!”

“Wait!” Dwalin and Balin shouted and took a hold from Thorin’s arms.

“If Smaug knows about our plan, his guards must be on alert! Our surprise attack won’t help Bilbo now, we must make a new plan!”

“New plan?! We don’t have time for that! He is in danger!”

“Thorin! He is our burglar, trust him! He will manage ten minutes until we know what to do!”, Balin tried, but Thorin didn’t calm down. It had been a mistake for not to tell about Bilbo’s true identity to others.

“He is not our burglar! He is-“

“We know, he is your burglar. That is one more reason for you to lay your trust on him.” Bofur said calmly and then suggested Thorin to sit down and start that plan-making.

Thorin went speechless. How long they had known? Had they realized it before him? He still wanted to tell the truth about Bilbo to them, but then realized that it would just make them all crazy from worrying and they wouldn’t ever make another rescue-plan.

“Fine. Everyone, come here!” Thorin took the role of the leader and in a second everyone gathered around him.

“You saw that there were guards near that room where Smaug and Bilbo are now, right? Now, I want Fili and Kili to shoot few nearest window broken and gather their attentions. When they go elsewhere even for a second, Gloin and Bifur will break the door and-“

As Thorin lifted his gaze to look at his men, he saw that one of them was missing.

“Where is Kili?”

Everyone started to look around, but there were no sight of that young trouble-maker.

“Fili! Where is your brother?!” Thorin demanded to know, but Fili stayed quiet. The young man just stared at his shoes, hands in his pockets and looked miserable. 

Thorin grabbed his nephew from the shoulders and shouted his question three times more until Fili lifted his gaze at him, looking very sad and whispered.

“I’m so sorry…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Attention guys! My lovely Beta-reader Yhoretta has correct the first five chapters of this fic! :-D I updated those chapters, and I must say that I love what she did! And I also love all the comments, kudos, bookmarks and views this poor fic of mine has got! Thank you all!


	36. Scream and beg

“I-I don’t know wh-what’s you’re tal-talking about..!” Bilbo tried, even though he knew that it must be futile.

“Please, this was way too easy my friend..! Do you really think that I was so stupid? First three of my best smugglers were killed, then the gang who worked under me was slayed too. And then my other smugglers were killed too, but this one stupid new fella just disappeared..! Do you really think that I would need someone like him because of the work? No, I hired that guy just because I knew that someone would imprison him and torture him to get some information. And when he says that he has a meeting with me, someone would surely hire a spy who would be sent here to snoop.” Smaug smiled wickedly, crunching the buttons by stepping on them, knowing that one of them contained some sort of microphone or camera.

“My only question is; who you are working for?” Smaug leaned closer again, making Bilbo squirm away as much as he could when sitting on that chair.

“Wha-what makes you think th-that I work f-for a-anyone..?!”

If Bilbo could help it this time, he won’t put Thorin and his men in danger. So if Smaug doesn’t know that they are behind this, Bilbo surely won’t give them away.

“Come on, don’t tell me that you work alone? That you killed all my henchmen alone? I don’t think so.”

Smaug repeated his question, but Bilbo remained silent. 

“Listen, I would not like to call any guards here. Torturing people is too much bother and too noisy; they always scream and beg… But if you don’t start talking I must hurt you.” Smaug said threateningly.

“So… If I talk, you won’t hurt me, right?” Bilbo gulped, trying to play some time. He knew that Thorin and others were on their way to save him, but something was keeping them.

“Well, I can’t promise anything, but you will most likely have all your limbs attached to your body if you decide to talk.” Smaug sneered, making Bilbo swallow again even though his mouth was dry.

“Y-you were smart enough to guess our plan, s-so why don’t you find out by yourself who is my boss?” Bilbo sounded more brave than he felt. Oh he was so stupid when daring this gangster, but what choice he had?

But like Azog back then had been thrilled by Bilbo’s resistance, so Smaug seemed pleased too when he chose to be cheeky.

“I see, you want to play? Well, that’s fine with me.”

Smaug backed to sit on his own big chair and leaned his elbows on his knees, staring into Bilbo’s eyes. 

“I’m pretty sure that your employer is one of my old enemies, not just someone who is interested about the stuffs I order. But there are many people who would want to see me without my head, and going through them all would take years..!”

“Well… My boss fits in that description…”

“He has hired you, a pretty lousy spy, so I don’t expect him to be smart.” Smaug mocked with a little chuckle.

“He has his flaws, but he is the most powerful and one of the greatest men I have ever knew.” Bilbo answered, meaning every word.

“You think very highly of him then… Seems like you know him very well..?” Smaug assumed, making Bilbo little bit nervous; he must be careful for not giving too much information away about Thorin.

“You could say so…” he tried not to show his growing fear as Smaug’s grin widened.

“It’s just pity that he doesn’t think the same way about you.”

Bilbo stiffened as Smaug stood up. And what he had meant by saying those things? 

“Since I broke your camera or microphone, what have you heard besides our talking?”

Bilbo didn’t know where Smaug was aiming at, but he was getting worried as Smaug walked closer to the wall, searching something.

“I… I have heard nothing…” Bilbo admitted.

“That’s correct. No screams, no gun-shooting, nothing.”

Smaug turned his gaze back to Bilbo, his eyes gleaming almost bright yellow in rooms light. 

“You really underestimated me, spy. I knew that you just wanted to keep me busy till your boss comes or sends someone to your rescue. But that door behind you is the only way in this room, and I take that you saw my guards while walking here? Maybe your boss thinks that you are not worth of sacrificing his and his henchmen’s life, and had leaved you on your own. Otherwise we would have already heard the sounds of fighting, miserable cries as your employers men fall down and breathe their last breaths before they die. But I haven’t heard any fighting, nor have my henchmen called me and warned me about intruders.”

Bilbo didn’t want to believe Smaug, but the situation was looking bad for him. They promised to save him, so where were they? Bilbo had been alone with Smaug for several minutes now, and he was getting more afraid and worried.

“I’m tired of talking with you. Besides, it had been so quiet for a while, so maybe I would actually enjoy when hearing you screaming…” Smaug sneered when he saw how Bilbo froze, fear visible in his eyes. Then he clicked the switch on the wall, but didn’t even expect it to bring more light in the room: No, that switch was there for calling the guards in the room, and Bilbo guessed that right away. 

As the switch clicked, Bilbo hold his breath, being sure that soon the room would be filled with Smaug’s henchmen, and so was Smaug, already smirking wickedly and eager to hear Bilbo’s screams…

 

But nothing happened.

 

Smaug huffed and clicked the switch again. 

 

Then again.

 

And again.

 

But even after five clicks, nobody came in the room.

“Wow, that must be embarrassing…” Bilbo thought as Smaug was getting more angrier, clicking that switch on and off again and again…

Eventually Smaug just punched the switch broken and took his cellphone, mumbling curses while doing so. Bilbo saw his chance and was just about to attack on Smaug, thinking that maybe he could snatch that phone away from him.

 

But Bilbo had time only to stand up when the door flew open and Smaug barely dodged the arrow that was aimed at him.

“Kili!” Bilbo turned around and breath out when he saw Thorin’s youngest nephew standing there, holding his bow in position.

Kili wanted to ask was Bilbo alright, but when he opened his mouth a bullet hit his shoulder, and right after that he was shot on his right arm.

“No..!”

Bilbo run to Kili’s help as the boy fell on the floor, dropping his bow. Then he felt how Smaug pressed his gun against Bilbo’s head, and peered out from the room into the corridor; all his henchmen were lying dead, an arrow shot either on their heads and necks. The sight surprised him, but he didn’t let show on his face.

“My my… No wonder we didn’t hear any noises..! You must be fast shooter, for killing them all so quietly and quickly! I give credit for that my boy!” he said, actually sounding impressed instead of angry.

Then Smaug grabbed Kili from his shirt and lifted the poor boy up so he could look at his face; the gun was still pressed against Bilbo’s head, stopping him from moving.

“Your face looks familiar…” Smaug muttered as he studied Kili’s form.

“I don’t think that we have ever met, you scum..!” Kili hissed between his teeth, determined for not showing any pain or fear to this sly man.

“Yes, that must be true… Because you remind me of someone who I knew over fifteen years ago. What was that boy’s name again… Oh yeah, you must be a relative of Thorin Durin, the grandson of Thror Durin, am I right?”

Bilbo gulped. He hadn’t been lied to when they told that the faces of Durin’s family were too well known in the underworld.

Just like Bilbo had, Kili also refused to answer. Smaug began to laugh and dropped Kili harshly on the floor, moving the gun away from Bilbo’s head while he started to walk back and forth, messaging something with his phone at the same time.

“So Thorin Durin is behind this..! He sends a small, weak spy and a bowman after me, how amusing!”

Bilbo felt how anger built in him, but he was too worried about Kili. He watched as Kili breathed heavily, struggling as he felt how sharp pain hit him every time he tried to move. He told Kili just to stay still, so that the bleeding wouldn’t increase.

When Smaug put his cellphone away he walked back to Bilbo and pulled the small man on his feet. 

“You’re not one of Durin’s men. How stupid of him for hiring an amateur to spy me!”

“Let him go..!” Kili shouted, but his voice sounded weak as the pain hit him again.

Smaug was getting bored again, and so he lifted his gun and pointed Kili’s head with it.

“You’re too noisy…” he huffed and was ready to shoot the third bullet on Kili’s head when Bilbo got scared.

“NO! Please! Don’t do it! I will tell you everything, just let him be!”

Bilbo’s reaction surprised Smaug, and he just kicked Kili on the stomach, bringing the gun towards Bilbo again.

“You value his life? One of Thorin Durin’s relative? This seems interesting, so you are close to these people?”

Even with his sharp and quick mind, Bilbo was unable to find right words to answer that question when the gun was pressed on his forehead. Then the very same question that Azog was thinking popped on Smaug’s mind, and the answer he chose was almost the same one too.

“I see… This has something to do with love. You were sent here to meet me and your only savior is this little kid with a bow and arrow, but still they seem to care about you, and you care about them.” Smaug stated and looked thoughtful. Then a few guards from the other side of the building that he had called earlier came into the room, one of them telling that there were intruders in the west wing. 

A hope lightened in Bilbo’s eyes; Thorin and others were on their way. But they had been spot, what if they got killed before they have time to help Kili?!

“What are we going to do boss?” a guard asked, but Smaug remained calm, looked Bilbo and smiled mischievously. 

“Just drive them to the upstairs. I think that this man here can help me to squeeze some really interesting information’s out of them..!”

With a gun pressed against his back Bilbo was forced to walk forward, leaving wounded Kili and three guards in the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some action here now..! 
> 
> And thank you all for comments, kudos, bookmarks and views!


	37. Please keep Shining

Kili blinked his eyes, trying to see where Bilbo was taken. But his vision was blurring, the blood loss was making him weak… 

Damn! And he had promised to his brother to come back, bringing Bilbo with him..! Only he could kill fast enough those guards without making any noises. But now he was lying on the floor, bleeding and the worst thing was that he had been unable to save Bilbo… 

“What should we do with this?” he heard one of the guards asking. 

“He will die soon anyway. But if you got some extra bullets, go ahead and end his misery.”

Now they were all laughing. Kili tried to get up, put on a fight, but he was too weak for that. When he managed to lift his gaze he saw how a gun was pointed at him, and there was no escape.

Many thoughts rushed through his mind back then. He thought about his dreams, his family and eventually he thought his brother Fili. He thought about the time he first kissed his brother on the lips when he was fourteen, telling that it was just a joke. Fili got hurt, later confessing that he wished that kiss to mean something more. And they both were so sure that this was going to be awkward, loving each other like that even thought they were brothers. But no, nothing felt wrong or awkward, nothing. Everything they did was right, no matter what everyone else would say. Only thing that Kili now was regretting was not to kiss his brother for one last time before he made him swear for not tell their uncle Kili’s own rescue plan. He regret that he wouldn’t see his smile anymore, that the last time he saw him his brother was frowning, looking Kili with a great worry. 

“You’re my sun so please keep shining…” Kili whispered barely audible ,closed his eyes and then he heard how the gun fired.

And then he heard another shot.

 

And right after that there came the third shot.

 

“KILI!”

 

Kili slowly opened his eyes and saw three bodies around him, and in the middle of them was standing his brother.

“Fili..?” he coughed, and then felt how his brother kneeled before him and hugged him tightly.

“Idiot..! Don’t ever do this to me again..!” Fili sighed and kissed his brother’s forehead. 

“Brother… How did you-“

“I’m sorry, I told uncle… Others are feinting Smaug’s guards, but I needed to find you… Thank lord I came on time…”

“You took a great risk…” Kili swallowed, warping his arms weakly around his brother’s back.

“I don’t care, I would risk everything I know for you..!” Fili looked at his brother’s eyes, feeling how tears were filling his own.

“Don’t… Don’t risk things for me ever again..!” Kili gasped and grabbed Fili’s jacket tightly with his left hand.

“I wouldn’t stand it if you were to die because of me..! I love you, you are my sun, don’t ever dim!”

And when Kili called his brother a sun, he really meant it. Ever since they were just little kids Fili had been his light, shining like a sun. He gave that name for him when Fili was teaching Ori about the colors by naming crayons after what the color in them most resembled; red was blood, green was grass, blue was sky and yellow was the sun. And with Fili’s golden blond hair the boy truly looked like the sun, bringing warmth and light in Kili’s heart. That’s why he borrowed little Ori’s yellow crayon, knowing that he would only need the color of the sun when drawing his brother. Kili couldn’t stand the idea that that warmness and light were to die before him, without Fili his world would be all dark and cold.

Fili cupped his brother’s face and gazed deeply in his eyes.

“If I’m the sun then you’re the sky. You’re everything to me, I wouldn’t have a place, a reason to shine without you..!”

Kili hated crying, but the tears of relief were pouring from his eyes as Fili kissed him gently on the lips. He wanted to say something, but his head felt light and his right arm was cold and heavy. He gave himself a permission to faint in his brother’s arms, thinking that if he won’t wake up again he wouldn’t regret anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, sorry..! But it's something little for Fili/Kili fans!  
> Once again, Thank You All for comments, kudos, bookmarks and views! There is still ore than few chapters to come, but not more than ten or so.. :)


	38. Thinking of you

Smaug had forced Bilbo to sit down on a chair, holding his hands up as Smaug held the gun against his head. Bilbo listened in the dark how Smaug occasionally answered or made calls with his cellphone, keeping track where Thorin’s men were and how many of them there was. So far it seemed that everyone lived and had success to break in Smaug’s mansion, even killed few guards. But Bilbo couldn’t help but be worried when Smaug just kept grinning, like everything was going according to his plan.

After a one phone call Smaug lowered the gun, and without a word he just walked away from the room, leaving Bilbo just to sit there in a wonder. He heard how Smaug locked the door after him, so maybe the gangster wasn’t going to come back any soon.

“What this means..?” Bilbo thought, not getting Smaug’s plan at all. 

At first Bilbo was too scared to even put his hands down, but when Smaug didn’t return for some minutes, he gathered his courage and started to wander in the room. 

There was no light anywhere, and Bilbo didn’t dare to light any of the lamps he found. Besides, his eyes were already used to the darkness. Although, there wasn’t much to see in that office, it resembled much the room they first were in; one big wooden desk, couple of chairs, expensive looking paintings on the wall and few bookshelves. But like in every stupid gangster-office Bilbo had been in, there were no windows..! And if there was a one, it was just some tiny little glassed hole without a proper view! 

But yeah, this window thing wasn’t the one that should frustrate Bilbo now. 

 

Minutes passed, but there was no sight of Smaug. Bilbo tried to look around, maybe he would find something useful. Useful for what, he didn’t know. Most likely this room didn’t contain anything that could help him in a fight with an armed Mafioso… 

 

But then he heard gun shooting right outside of the room, and Bilbo quickly hid behind the desk. He heard how someone shot the lock and kicked the door open. Carefully Bilbo peered over the desk, but just like the room, the corridor was all dark too and he could only see the silhouette of the intruder. 

But Bilbo could recognize that silhouette anywhere.

“Thorin..!”

Without either of them doing much thinking, Bilbo stood up as Thorin hurried over his side, hugging his burglar tightly making sure that he was alright. 

“You must go and help Kili..! He got hurt when he tried to save me..!” Bilbo whispered, not daring to talk too loudly in case someone hears them.

“Calm down, I know what happened. Fili sent me message, he and Kili are with Oin who is sure that Kili will be alright. They managed to escape.”

“And the others..?”

“They are feinting Smaug’s men, I came to look for you.” Thorin said while he started to send message with his cellphone.

“Dwalin will let me know when it’s safe enough for us to flee.”

Bilbo was so relieved that Kili was safe..! Thorin could feel how his small body was shaking against his chest, and carefully he dragged Bilbo behind the desk, telling him that they should just hide and wait Dwalin’s sign.

“I’m sorry… I screwed up… Smaug knew that I was a spy right from the start, and I wasn’t convincing enough to prove him otherwise…” Bilbo apologized and hung his head low.

“It’s not your fault.” Thorin assured, feeling guilty when he had put his amateur-burglar in this kind of danger. 

For a while they just sat down, listening each other’s breathing. 

“Were you scared..?” Thorin asked breaking the silence.

Bilbo blinked at that. The question seemed a little bit funny to him.

“Of course I was… Kili was hurt badly and-“

“I know, but you could have died too.” Thorin pointed out, feeling pain in his heart when saying so; he didn’t want to think the worst, hated that it would have been his fault, when he knew that Bilbo wasn’t a real burglar.

“You know… Every single time when things had get… A little bit sticky, I have always been afraid. Before every mission, the one when I went to meet those three smugglers, when that gang attacked on us and when Azog kidnapped me, I have always been scared. But when things worked out, when everything was over, I never felt that I was regretting for helping you.” Bilbo’s voice wasn’t so steady, but he managed to say this all without stammering too much.

Thorin didn’t know what to say to that, and Bilbo decided to continue when he realized that he wasn’t going to get any reply.

“There is just this little… Funny thing…”

Thorin lowered his gaze to meet Bilbo’s, whose green-gray eyes were staring into Thorin’s blue ones in the darkness.

“Whenever I have thought that I wouldn’t make it… When I was almost sure that this was the end of me, I always thought of Frodo, my nephew. All our memories came to my mind, and more than fearing death I found myself worrying how he would make it without me. I mean, he is grown up boy now, almost adult and very independent one too, but I’m his only family… And I know that even if I’m gone, he would be alright. He has his friends too, I’m not the only person in his life anymore. But I still thought of him, always.”

Thorin nodded, he understood Bilbo well. Bilbo had once said that he treasured Frodo over everything, and even thought Thorin’s nephews were trouble makers, he also worried about them and loved them from the bottom of his heart. But he also knew that he and Dwalin had done perfect job when teaching them how to fight, so he knew to trust them too. 

But Bilbo wasn’t done with the talking just yet.

“But lately… No, much earlier than lately, right after Frodo I found myself thinking of someone else too… At first I had no idea why his face came to my mind, but I couldn’t stop thinking of him… I’m not too sure have I found the answer for that, I know that he will be alright without me so maybe I’m not worried about him… I just think of him, keep thinking of him even when I’m not in danger, but I somewhat I think him differently than I think Frodo.”

Thorin’s chest felt tight. The way Bilbo was talking about this man sounded like he was… Was in love with him. And even without words, Thorin could see that sparkle in Bilbo’s eyes, shining even in the dark room.

“Who is he..?” Thorin asked, even though he wasn’t sure did he want to hear the name of that man. But the curiosity would kill him if he didn’t know.

Bilbo swallowed and blinked few times, hiding that spark in his eyes from Thorin for a few seconds, but every time he opened his eyes again that spark had only became stronger. 

“You…” he whispered, and saw how Thorin’s eyes widened in a shock.

“Can you tell me… Why am I thinking of you so much..?” Bilbo asked quietly, unconsciously leaning a bit closer to Thorin’s now tense body.

 

But then suddenly the room was filled with a light, blinding them both for seconds. 

 

“I knew that you would eventually find your way up here, Thorin Durin. Or should I call you Oakenshield, like many of my friends do?”

Thorin tugged Bilbo behind his back and pointed his gun at Smaug, who was also keeping Thorin on his target. 

“Long time no see.” Smaug grinned.

“You don’t know how I have waited for this day… When I can finally kill you..!” Thorin huffed, feeling how his anger and hatred were rising into a new level. 

“Don’t shoot just yet, boy. You know, you might not believe it, but if you shoot in this room, my special security system will be activated from the sound of the gun, and there will literally rain bullets towards the shooter. Which means, your little spy is standing in a place where there will surely rain. You can just be thankful that you were shooting far enough in the corridor when you broke my lock.” Smaug told him, making Thorin frown.

“You’re bluffing..!”

“Want to put it on a test?”

Of course Thorin couldn’t risk Bilbo’s life, and so he was forced just to wait what Smaug got to say. 

“Oh, so you do care about that spy, don’t you? He must be worth of great sums of money then, since your family would never keep anything that wasn’t valuable.”

“Shut up..!” Thorin hated it when someone like Smaug was speaking about his family like he would know them. His grandfather was a greedy man, but thanks to his friends and Bilbo Thorin had prevented to become one himself. 

At the same time Bilbo was starting to hate himself so, so much; he himself had also accused Thorin for only keeping valuable things near him, and was later proved so wrong. Thorin Durin had a heart, a real beating one, not a one made from riches and cold gold.

“Tell me, how much is he worth for?” Smaug demanded to know, still grinning arrogantly.

Bilbo expected Thorin just to threat Smaug again, but surprisingly he answered with a proud and confident voice:

“So much that you could never afford him, more than you could ever imagine..!”

That answer surprised both Smaug and Bilbo. But soon the evil gangster boss began to laugh and started to tug something out from his jacket’s pocket.

“I remember how your grandfather descripted something for me almost with the same words. So, I let you choose. If you exchange him for this, I let you and your men go without resistance, or you could keep your spy and die here with him. If you know what’s good for you, you know to choose the first opinion, right? So, which one do you want: The spy, or this?”

When Bilbo saw what Smaug took out of his jacket’s inside pocket, he’s eyes were surely as big as his mouth. Never had he seen anything so small that would look so valuable, a piece of jewelry that was so beautiful that there surely wasn’t another one alike it in the whole world.

 

The Arkenstone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have sad news for you guys; my beta-reader Yhoretta is too busy to continue her job with this fic, but she managed to do the first seven chapters, so applauses for her..! But so, I'm looking for another beta-reader, so let me know if you're interested to do the job! 
> 
> Thank you all for the comments, kudos, bookmarks and views!


	39. The most valuable thing

“Come on, it’s an easy choice, isn’t it?”

 

Bilbo could hear his own heartbeat in his ears as he waited for Thorin’s answer. Even though that the Arkenstone was so very beautiful, Bilbo was able to tear his eyes away from it and eventually think of it only as a cold, lifeless stone. But for Thorin that stone was something more, what Bilbo had heard it was his grandfather’s obsession, like a heart to him..! Thorin knew the story behind it, the value of it, he knew what people were ready to sacrifice for it. And Bilbo remembered that Balin had told him how Thorin wanted to get that stone back before killing Smaug, it would make his revenge perfect. Thorin had already put his family in great dangers because of his hate towards Smaug and his desire for the Arkenstone. 

A minute passed, but Thorin still didn’t move or say anything. If Bilbo would have had the chance to see his face, he wouldn’t have been surprised by seeing how intense Thorin was staring the stone that Smaug held in his hand. There was no real emotion on his face, he was most likely amazed; he hadn’t seen that stone for over a ten years. The memories about his grandfather flooded through his mind; he remembered how he would gaze it fondly, showing it to Thorin and his brother and sister, telling them how they could never own anything so precious in their entire lives. But Dis and Frerin were rebellious, and so Thror made sure that Thorin would know the value of this stone, raising him to love it like he did. Thorin wasn’t allowed to forget what the Arkenstone meant for Thror, the value of it. When Thror lost it, he made Thorin to pledge that he would get it back, and Thorin had never broken any promises he had made. For Thror and through him to Thorin the Arkenstone was the epitome of pride and perfection, wealthy and good life. 

And even though Bilbo knew that Thorin surely wasn’t anything like his grandfather, Bilbo also knew that money and treasures could change people dramatically; he was shocked when his close relatives abandoned him when Bilbo alone inherited his parents. And even if Thorin hadn’t spoke about the Arkenstone in Bilbo’s presence, seeing it after many years could now awake that old greed and his grandfather’s teachings.

But of course Smaug was bluffing when he said that he would let Thorin leave with the Arkenstone..! Bilbo knew that Thorin wouldn’t be so stupid to believe that lie. But maybe Thorin would still be able to flee with the treasure when he didn’t need to care about Bilbo’s life anymore…

“I’m waiting, Thorin Durin.” Smaug was getting impatient, but Thorin had already made his decision; he lowered his gun and without a word he started to walk determinedly towards Smaug, staring the Arkenstone for the whole time. 

As Thorin left his side, Bilbo’s world came crashing down. He wanted to say something to stop him, but Bilbo felt that he didn’t had the right to do that. Thorin made his choice; it was the Arkenstone, not Bilbo. And if he really thought it, why would Thorin even choose otherwise? He hadn’t known Bilbo for many months, but that stone had been a part of his whole life. 

Smaug seemed pleased. He handed the Arkenstone over to Thorin and laughed.

“I knew that the grandson of Thror Durin wouldn’t really care about anything else but this..!”

Thorin still said nothing, just observed and twiddled the stone in his hand. Slowly a faint smile appeared on his lips, and he closed his eyes as he breathed in deep, knowing that the decision he made was absolutely the right one and he would never regret it.

 

 

 

A shattering noise filled the room as Thorin threw the Arkenstone on the floor, making it to break in a million little pieces flying in the room.

Bilbo saw that Smaug was flabbergasted, furious and confused. But Bilbo didn’t hear his cursing through his own thoughts and confusion. His hearing started to work again when Thorin straightened his back, pointed his gun again towards Smaug and spoke.

“You’re right. My family doesn’t keep or care about anything that isn’t valuable. And that spy is the most valuable thing for us… For me in the whole world, much more valuable than some old piece of rock.”

Bilbo didn’t believe his ears. Thorin chose him, a lousy lying burglar instead of his family treasure. If the shock hadn’t been so big he might had cried, but now it took much just to stand up. 

Bilbo didn’t see it, but Thorin was still smiling, now actually more like grinning to Smaug. That angered the older mafia boss even more, and he quickly moved his gun to point Bilbo instead of Thorin.

Thorin didn’t waste a second, but just when he was about to shoot a loud bang echoed in the room and Smaug dropped death on the floor after gaining a bullet straight in to the back of his head.

“You..?!” Bilbo gasped as he saw the shooter standing in the corridor. It was the man who had brought him there, Smaug’s very own henchman B.

Thorin kept pointing his gun forward, not totally trusting their savior. But at the same time he was so relieved; Smaug really had bluffed when he spoke about the rooms “special security system” and “bullet rain”. 

B stepped forward and put his gun away. He showed his face by removing his hood and raised his hands up, showing Thorin that he was no threat.

“I’m sorry for the delay, gentlemen. My name is Bard. It’s an honor to meet you, mister Durin.” Bard smiled and slowly Thorin put his gun away too, motioning Bilbo to come by his side as Bard kneeled down and checked that Smaug really was finally dead.

“It’s all over now…” Thorin whispered as he pulled Bilbo’s small body next to his, stroking his arm and shoulder comfortingly. 

 

“We’re safe now…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I hope I wasn't too predictable (yeah, I know I probably was, but can't be helped anymore, I hope you still like the story!)!
> 
> Thank you all for comments, kudos, bookmarks and views!


	40. Go to him

“What?! Why are they all fleeing?! Come back here you scums!”

“Let them go Gloin! Brother and Bifur are lurking in the forest, they will make sure that those fellows won’t make it very far. Let’s just make sure that there is no one inside the house!” Bombur shouted to his friend as Smaug’s henchmen and guards started to escape; Bard had messaged them that this battle was lost and only fast legs would save them now. 

Gloin huffed and stopped chasing those men, returning back to the hallway next to Bombur, Dori and his two younger brothers.

“Where Dwalin went? He was here just a minute ago.” Bombur wondered and looked around.

“He went looking for mister Durin because he didn’t answer Dwalin’s message. He will let me know if everything is alright.” Ori told and kept staring at his cellphone, almost holding his breath as he feared the worst. 

But eventually a smile appeared on his face when Dwalin messaged him that everything was okay. 

“Mister Durin and mister Baggins are both sound and safe! And Smaug is no more our problem!” Ori exclaimed happily and everyone cheered. They weren’t too sure what Dwalin really meant by texting “Smaug not problem”, but apparently Bilbo and Thorin had beaten that scum. 

“I’m glad that he’s safe..!” Ori breathe out smiling, and Dori didn’t need to ask whom he was talking about. 

Ori was worried about Dwalin even though the man had stood next to him five minutes ago, and nobody was often worrying over their best fighter. But Dori knew that his little brother was harboring great big feelings towards that bald, tattooed guy, whenever Dori thought that it was wise or not. He noticed those feelings when Ori started to follow Dwalin even more than before, chose to sit in his car rather than in Dori or Nori’s. And before he had asked Nori to teach him shooting, now he wanted Dwalin to do that too.

Oh how Dori had stayed up his nights, thinking of why his sweet little brother felt that way towards someone like Dwalin, a man almost twenty years older than him..! He feared that Ori would hurt himself, but at the same time the little voice back in his head was telling him that Dwalin had always protected, and always will protect Ori. His little brother couldn’t be safer in anybody else’s arms. And seeing how Ori now had fought next to Dwalin and worried over him, Dori knew that he should set his brother free.

“Go to him.”

Ori lifted his gaze from the phone and stared at his eldest brother.

“You know Ori… I know how you feel… About him…”

Ori swallowed; oh no, what Dori would say…

“I’m… I’m not against it. I can see that you love him very deeply, and I’m sure that he loves you too… So go and be by his side, tell him what you’re feeling… I will support you, I promise…”

Dori’s smile was a little bit sad, but Ori knew that his brother wouldn’t say such a things if he didn’t mean them. Only that Dori was a little bit late here, Dwalin and Ori kind of were already together…

“But brother, what about your arm?! It’s still bleeding!” Ori leaned closer to look at the wound that Dori had gained during the battle when a bullet had scratched him. 

“Don’t you worry about it, Oin will look it for me. You need to be by Dwalin’s side…” Dori tried to smile more happily, wanting to show his baby brother that he truly wished for him to be happy.

Ori sighed and felt how the stone fell from his heart; he loved to be with Dwalin, but was feeling a bit uneasy when he needed to hide his relationship from his brothers, especially from Dori. But now that he knew that his brother accepted him as whom he was, Ori almost felt like crying.

“Thank you, Dori..!” he said as he leaned to hug his brother tightly, still careful for not to touch his wound.

Dori patted Ori’s head and he wasn’t far from crying either. But before he let his brother go, he wanted to make one thing clear.

“I know you love him and all, but you have to promise me Ori that you won’t… Rush things… I mean, even if he wants to do all kinds of things, you have every right to say no until you’re absolutely ready for… Those kinds of things you know… Because if he ever hurts you, I swear that even his amazing shooting skills won’t save him from my revenge..!”

Ori knew to wait some kind of threat, so he kind of ignored it. But he blushed violently as Dori’s message about… You know, those things, hit him. 

“Umm… We kinda already… I mean… He and me…” Ori muttered and stammered, making his brother’s eyes go wide as plates. 

“Umm… So yeah… I’m going now, Nori please look after Dori for me!” Ori hurried to ran up the stairs, leaving his flabbergasted brother standing in a shock. Nori nodded and patted his older brother on the shoulder, knowing what Dori was going through in his mind right now.

“Somehow he already grew up without us really noticing it.” Nori sighed, but Dori couldn’t find his usual steady tone.

“He… You… How long did you know..? Why didn’t you tell me that… He and… They already… For how long...?”

“Well, I kinda knew for a while, but never wanted to admit it. And about their relationship, I heard about it on the last weekend, but not from Ori or Dwalin.” Nori admitted, thinking how long he had tried to tell himself that Bofur’s suspicions were wrong, in vain. 

“You… You knew..?! But why didn’t you stop him- I mean told me about it..?!” Dori was still in a shock.

“Well, I knew that you would act like this, and I thought that you needed to realize and accept it at your own pace. Besides, a certain man with a funny hat has kept me a little bit busy these last weeks…” Nori lowered his voice a bit when saying that last sentence.

“What, you too?!” Dori and forgotten Gloin shouted together as Nori rolled his eyes. Bombur was just smiling, he had heard all about that relationship from his brother long ago.

“Let’s get you to see Oin now, shall we?” Nori tugged his brother out of the hallway, dragging him to show that nasty wound to their doctor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! I'm happy to tell you that WinterKisses is my new beta-reader here! Applauses for her then! 
> 
> And Thank You All for the comments, kudos, bookmarks and views! I think that there will not be many chapters left anymore, so I try to post them all here before the Christmas comes :>


	41. Where my home is

“My family owned some land on the countryside. Smaug wanted to buy it so he could use it as a hideout for his shipments and even test his new guns there, since our land was far away from the city. When we said no, he… Well, he burned everything that we owned, and threatened to kill us all next if we won’t give that land to him. But Smaug had believed that I died in that fire, and I knew that I could use that so I could get my revenge. I decided to get close to him not as his enemy, but as his subordinate. I started from the bottom, smuggled things, did all kinds of dirty jobs… But in a few years I started to get closer to him and two months ago he named me as his number one henchman. But even I was never alone with him, so I knew that I just needed to wait my chance. I needed just a one bullet, a one chance… So, if you had carried a gun with you, mister spy, I would have pretended that I didn’t noticed it.” Bard told his story and threw a smile towards Bilbo.

“Just call me Bilbo please… Thank you for saving us, Bard.” Bilbo thanked their savior. 

Thorin and Bard discussed for a while about their stories and what made them become Smaug’s enemies, until Dwalin came in the room, relief clear in his eyes as he saw that both, Bilbo and Thorin lived. Bard told him that he had sent those remaining guards off, being Smaug’s right hand and all.

“So, he won’t get up anymore, huh?” Dwalin kicked Smaug’s body as he texted Ori that things were alright. Then he noticed those shattered pieces on the floor, surprising at first but then smiled; he didn’t know what had happened, but Thorin didn’t seem to be bothered about the destruction of the Arkenstone. 

“You did a good job.” Dwalin patted Bilbo on the shoulder, making the smaller man stumble forward a little.

“I… I actually didn’t do anything…” Bilbo admitted.

“No, you did more than I would have ever believed.” Dwalin smiled, but he wasn’t speaking about Bilbo’s job as a burglar.

 

Soon they decided that it was about the time to leave that room and make sure that everyone were alright. As they reached the stairs, Ori met them, smiled generously as he saw that nobody had gotten hurt. And in the hallway there were Bombur and Gloin, and everyone else were outside near their first hideout having their wounds cured by Oin. When Bilbo saw Kili, sitting in the car next to his brother, smiling weakly as he had just woken up, Bilbo run to him and hugged the boy tightly.

“Kili! You’re alive!” Bilbo was careful not to touch Kili’s freshly patched up shoulder and arm. 

“Of course I am..! Two bullets won’t be enough to kill me..!”

Thorin also came to make sure that his nephews were safe and sound, patting them on the heads fondly.

“Do that again and I will break your bow for sure.” he said with a smile and Kili grinned back at him.

“But I eliminated many of those guards with my arrows. They didn’t even hear me until they were all dead, I was so fast..!” the young boy boasted.

“You sure were.” Thorin smirked.

After all the cheering and hugging everybody’s attention turned to Bard, who told his story again, this time with all the little details. When they heard that this man was the one who put that bullet in Smaug’s head, they invited him to come and attend to the party they were going to throw this evening.

“You planned to have a party..?” Thorin huffed, but not in a way that he would be against for having one. After all, he should have known that his men had probably already done all kinds of preparations for this evening, probably started doing so weeks ago. Well, that just meant that they truly believed in their victory, and all that trust warmed Thorin’s heart.

“I would gladly come, but all these years have kept me separated from my family. I was too afraid to keep touch with them while I worked under Smaug. So I just want to go and find them.” Bard smiled, disappointing everyone, but of course they understood him. 

“If there is anything we can do, just tell us.” Thorin offered his help, feeling that he owned something to this man, who had saved his and especially Bilbo’s life.

“Without you, I may would have been forced to wait years before having a chance to shoot him.”, Bard said, telling Thorin that they were event. 

“At least let us give you a lift to the town..!, Bofur insisted.

“Yeah, why are we still loitering here?! Come on, it’s about the time to go home and start drinking… I mean partying!” Gloin exclaimed, gaining approving cheers from everybody. But as they were about to step in their cars, Bilbo stopped them.

 

“Wait! I would like to say something first!”

 

Everyone were curious to hear what he got to say, but Thorin was sure that he already knew what Bilbo wanted to tell them. 

“You see everyone… I’m not the one you think I am.” Bilbo started, not really knowing how he should explain this all.

 

But in the end he didn’t need to even try.

 

“You mean the thing that you’re not a real burglar?” Kili asked from the car.

“What..?! How did you..?”, Bilbo was confused and turned to look at Thorin, who was as surprised as he was.

“Did Gandalf tell you about it..?”

Damn, Bilbo should have known that “the wizard” loved to gossip.

But it turned out that Gandalf had kept his mouth shut this time.

“We actually guessed it already some time ago, almost from the start actually.”, Bombur confessed and his cousin muttered something in agreement next to him.

“It was pretty clear when you fainted as soon as you saw that gun.” Balin smirked.

“Yeah, though your act when we were at those three giant’s mercy made us to think that you really could be a real burglar after all, but soon we came to the conclusion that it wasn’t like that.” Fili spoke this time.

“You… Why didn’t you tell me?!” Thorin wasn’t really angry, most likely shocked that they all were doing their best to convincing him that he should just trust Bilbo, even thought Thorin had said that Bilbo wasn’t suited for this job from the start.

“Yeah, why didn’t you say anything sooner?! Why did you all trusted me?!” Bilbo demanded to know, but everyone remained calm, smiling lovingly and speaking like it was all clear.

“Because we liked you. And we knew that Gandalf must have his reasons to send you to us. And in the end, when you proved that you really were a perfect burglar we knew why you should be with us.”

Bilbo didn’t understand. Well he had had a little luck with him, but that didn’t make him a perfect burglar in any case.

“Come on! You stole uncle’s heart! You must be the best burglar of them all for doing so!” Kili and Fili laughed, gaining nods and chuckles from everyone. Well, from everyone else but Thorin, who hid his reddened face in his palm. 

Bilbo also blushed and almost fell backwards by surprise. These guys were way too blunt..! And never did they stop surprising him!

“Come on mister Boggins! I wanna go and party!” Kili hurried him, tapping the empty seat on his left.

“You won’t party much with those wounds..!” his brother warned him, but Kili just rolled his eyes.

“I’m never too wounded for partying!”

Bilbo would have liked to ask many, many things, but he surrendered; these guys were just so… Ugh, Bilbo just didn’t get them; thinking about partying right after they had all knowingly put their hopes in the fake burglar. But their honesty and positivity made him feel so happy and warm too.

“Fine, let’s go.” he managed to smile through his embarrassment, adding that he would like to call his nephew before doing any party stuff. 

“So, you’re going back to the home too?” Bard asked, and suddenly Bilbo’s smile weakened, his thoughts became even more messed up. Oh yeah, the job was done, he could go back to his house now… That’s a great thing, isn’t it..?

“I… I don’t know…” he muttered before getting into the car. 

 

“I don’t know where my home is anymore…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm posting this in a hurry, so Thank You All for the comments, kudos, bookmarks and views!


	42. You will be happy

And what a party it was!

 

Bilbo had always thought that the feasts his family used to have when he was a child were the greatest one’s ever, but in Durin’s house everything was much bigger and ebullient! There were lots, lots of food, generously amount of ale and merry flute music played mostly by Bofur. Bilbo had used to see some dancing in parties, but these men weren’t so much into jumping around with their patched up arms and legs. Kili was hurt most badly, some of them had just gained some scratches. But even with a two bullet wounds Kili was having a time of his life, laughing with everyone and clearly enjoyed it when his brother was pampering him for the whole evening.

Gloin excused himself pretty early, since like Bard he also wanted to see his family and celebrate their victory with his wife and son. He would have actually like to bring them here, where all his friends and brother were, but since he knew that they would drink much and couples were going to keep their… Uh, private parties through the night, he saw that it was best to spare himself for his son's awkward questions in the next morning… Okay, his son, Gimli, was an adult, a grown up man by now too, but Gloin never really wanted to admit that. For him his son had stopped growing as he turned to twelve. Well, what to say, if Gloin hadn’t thought that his son was somehow so innocent, he would have let him live with this Mafioso-filled house too like Dis had (reluctantly, mind you) let Fili and Kili. And of course his wife also had her word to say to that, but I think that this is enough about Gloin and his lovely family for now.

Dwalin and Ori also disappeared somewhere around the midnight, and as Dori saw them walking away hand in hand he couldn’t help but sob a little. Yes, he kind of was happy for his brother, that he had found someone who really cared about him, but it was still hard to let go. Nori tried to comfort his brother -who usually didn’t drink so much but was now drowning his sorrow in alcohol- knowing how hard it must be for Dori to fully accept their youngest brother’s relationship. But soon Nori too started to throw flirting smiles and looks with Bofur, and Dori sobbed even more as those two also left to have some private time alone. 

But Dori wasn’t the only one who was feeling a little bluish during that great big party. Bilbo too tried his best to enjoy about their victory, and he really did, but couldn’t help but think what tomorrow would bring. He didn’t have any reason to stay with Durin’s anymore. But still when he had called Frodo before attending in to the celebration, he had said that he wasn’t sure when he would return back to his house. Oh how he wished that Gandalf would have had a time to join them this evening! He really needed to talk with somebody who didn’t live in this house! And the things that the others had said to him earlier, about him stealing the heart of Thorin Durin and the things that Frodo had said in the phone were bothering him so much..!

 _“Uncle, why can’t you already tell me who is this person you’re spending your time with? You never liked to be away from home, so you must really love that person as you have stayed with them like two months!”_ Frodo’s words echoed in Bilbo’s head.

Was it love that he was feeling towards Thorin? Just thinking it made his legs feel weak, so he tried not to. But then his eyes started to wander in that big hall they were having the party of their lives, and like unconsciously his eyes did their best to find Thorin, who was talking with Balin at the moment. 

Damn, Bilbo’s heart started to beat faster as he thought that this mighty, powerful yet surprisingly gently man might be in love with him. Bilbo didn’t know why, but Thorin had even chosen him instead of the Arkenstone, saying that Bilbo was his greatest treasure. 

Then Thorin’s eyes also found their way to stare at Bilbo, and when their gazes met, Thorin actually smiled a little before turning to look Balin again and said something what Bilbo couldn’t hear through the music and singing. 

“You have watched him for the whole evening.” Balin commented, but Thorin didn’t bother to answer, so Balin continued.

“Dwalin told me something about the shattered arkenstone. Want to tell me what happened?”

“Old things tend to break” Thorin said with a calm voice.

“I would have never believed that you would speak about the arkenstone like it was just some “old thing”.” Balin smiled, Thorin just shrugged his shoulders.

“I found something much more valuable.” he said as he throw that gentle smile towards Bilbo, who blushed and tried to keep himself busy when comforting Dori.

“Have you told it to him yet? Well, your nephews kind of already said it, but I think that it’s your word that makes him truly believe it.”

Thorin was quiet for a while, and from that Balin could just guess that the answer for his question was “no”.

“I think that he wants to go back to his home.” Thorin sighed, not wanting to think about Bilbo’s leave.

“Perhaps you could make him stay?”

Thorin didn’t answer. He looked at his feet with a troubled expression on his face, thinking that he had already put Bilbo through so much, he couldn’t ask anything more from him. Carefully he glanced at Bilbo, feeling a sting in his heart as he thought that this would be their last evening together, and he wasn’t even able to be alone with him..!

“I think that I need an another drink.” he said and grabbed his pint from the table, pouring himself more ale. Never had he believed that he would feel this sad when he had just got rid of his worst enemy. 

He glanced at Bilbo again. The short man was being teased by his nephews. But Thorin saw how Bilbo just pretended to be angry and was eventually laughing sweetly with Fili and Kili. 

“I hope you will be happy…” Thorin whispered and turned to look away. He was careful for not to look at Bilbo anymore for the whole night, knowing that it would only make it harder to say goodbye tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for comments, kudos, bookmarks and views! I try to finish this before the Christmas comes!


	43. Happy ending

“What..? No no no..! How this is even possible?!”

Bilbo cursed quietly as he checked the clock from his cellphone; it was already a four a clock in the afternoon.

“I slept again the whole day..?! I can’t believe this, I didn’t even drink that much… Ouch…”

Well, judging by his headache he really did drink too much… After all, they had partied through the night, till the morning. It was a miracle that Bilbo had managed to drag himself in to his own bed..! And he had been worried what he would say today, how he would say his goodbyes…

Yes, he had decided that he couldn’t stay. What reason he had for staying? He wasn’t a real burglar, no matter what everyone said. And in the end he had stayed till the yesterday because he had a job to do. But now it was over. Maybe this chapter, the chapter as a burglar in his life was now over. He had his one great big story to tell, the one adventure. 

But don’t think that it had been an easy choice; when Bilbo watched through the night how everyone were having fun, talked with him with a smile on their faces and Bilbo knew that he was going to miss them all. But at the same time when he didn’t have any special reason to stay, he didn’t have any special reason to go back. At first he thought that Frodo would be that kind of reason, but like he had told to Gandalf, Frodo was independent, had in theory already flew from the nest and wasn’t depending on Bilbo much anymore. 

“I’m stuck…”, he had said to himself before starting to drown his own worries in alcohol. And in some point he made his decision; he wouldn’t be needed here anymore, and even if he wouldn’t be needed back in his house anymore at least he wasn’t a burden there. 

When he felt that his headache was easing a little bit (this took about an hour), he started to find his way to the downstairs. First because he desperately needed some food, and second because he wanted to see had anybody else woken up too.

But the house was quiet. Well, that wasn’t a surprise. Bilbo had drink much, but not even the half of it what others had. And those couples that had leaved earlier probably kept themselves busy for the whole night… And not any living soul could have been able to sleep in middle of that loud music, talking, singing and laughing! Probably they all would sleep till the next morning.

“Well, I gained another day… Evening here. But I will most likely spend it alone…”, Bilbo spoke aloud, knowing that nobody would hear him anyway. 

Well at least he could do some cleaning, the house was mess..! But first the food!

 

It was weird how casually he was just wandering around that big house, learned where everyone’s rooms were and what every closet contained. He hadn’t noticed that until just now, when he was searching for certain supplies for his breakfast, knowing exactly where to look for all those things. And actually Bilbo hadn’t just learned them, he was the one who had put them there; everyone had given him the right to decorate and organize their belongings. After all, Bilbo had started to do the most of the cleaning and cooking when Bombur, who had done all that before, needed to consecrate his training against Smaug and his men. Well actually Bombur had done mostly only cooking, they all cleaned together but didn’t do so very often, and what Bilbo heard the house had never been so clean for so long before he moved in.

“They will have hard time when there is nobody looking after them anymore…”, Bilbo chuckled to himself, thinking of how Kili will again leave his gun in the fridge and how Dori will get mad again when someone has unorganized his wine bottles.

Well, at least he had managed to leave his mark in this house after all, Bilbo thought with a faint smile as he had finished his… Can you say “breakfast”, if you eat it in the evening? Well, when he had finished his food and done some cleaning. The clock was now seven pm. Bilbo sat down and thought that he could go back to sleep soon, then wake up again in the morning with everyone else. And then he could say that goodbye…

Oh, but there was this one thing that Bilbo had wanted to do before leaving! The garden..! He needed to make sure to leave it in a respectful state, so it would be easier for everyone else to take care of it in future! Bilbo could still stay up for a few more hours, just enough time to clean that garden up a bit. Maybe he could even write instructions for everyone what kind of flowers were weeds and what they should not rip off. 

“And I must tell them how to shield flowers from the frost.”, Bilbo reminded himself before he headed out, enjoying some fresh evening-air as he walked towards the garden.

 

But somebody was already there.

 

Bilbo stopped walking as he saw how someone was on his knees, weeding the small garden, had apparently done so for a while since there was a big pile of weeds and sticks on his left side. 

“How long have you been here?”

Thorin flinched just a little when he heard Bilbo’s voice behind his back. Bilbo sat down next to him and looked at the garden; it really started to look like a proper garden now.

“How did you know how to make it so pretty?”, Bilbo asked, hoping that his question didn’t sound insulting; maybe even Thorin had the ability to tell flowers and weeds apart even if he didn’t do much gardening otherwise.

“I checked things from the internet…” Thorin admitted and showed his phone to Bilbo. 

“Oh… That’s good…”, Bilbo nodded and admired again Thorin’s hand work. 

“So… When did you start..?”, Bilbo asked again, carefully.

“A little before five pm...”, Thorin muttered and patted his soil-dirtied hands clean.

“Then you have been here for hours..!”

“Have I? I didn’t notice that.”, Thorin commented, actually sounding a bit surprised so Bilbo couldn’t tell for sure was he just being sarcastic.

“Have you eaten anything?”

Thorin shook his head, making Bilbo’s eyes go wide.

“You must eat something then..! Come, I’ll fix you something in the kitchen..!”

Thorin was a bit reluctant to leave in the middle of his work, but he also couldn’t deny that he was a bit of hungry as well. Besides, maybe this was his last chance to eat something that Bilbo had cooked…

“Fine...”, Thorin stood up and followed Bilbo back to the house, not knowing should he feel awkward or lucky when he noticed that everyone else were still sleeping.

“Do you think that they will be sleeping till the tomorrow?”, Bilbo asked as he started to boil some water for the tea, just wanting to prevent the awkward silence. 

“They usually do after the parties. Thought we never had as big celebration as we did yesterday.”

Bilbo nodded, and after some minutes of just some few worded chatting he gave Thorin a sandwich and poured him some tea.

“Here, you can start with these. I’ll make something proper in a mean while.”

“No, this will be enough.”

“But you haven’t eaten for a whole day..! And you worked so hard with the garden too…”, Bilbo worried, but sat on the chair opposite of Thorin’s seat anyway.

“Weeding isn’t so tiring.”, Thorin smirked, not really counting the ripping off the wrong kinds of flowers from a ground as a work.

“But you haven’t done that before, right..?”, Bilbo confirmed, gaining a small nod from Thorin.

“Why..? I mean, why did you started to take care of it..?”, Bilbo asked shyly, not daring to hope to hear the answer what he wanted, but surprisingly did.

“You said that you would like us to take care of it when you’re gone.”

For a second Bilbo felt actually happy; Thorin remembered his wish. But then that happiness died away.

“You don’t have to do it if you feel that you own it to me…”, he said, keeping his gaze on the table’s wooden surface as it would be something so very interesting. He just couldn’t look Thorin in the eyes.

“I did it because I want to.”, Thorin said, not quite convincing Bilbo.

When neither of them had said anything for a minute, Bilbo started to feel a little bit awkward. But as he tried to think something to talk about Thorin spoke again.

“What are you planning to do from now on? When you go back to your house, I mean.”

Bilbo wasn’t sure what to answer. He didn’t want to think about how lonely his life could get without these noisy people around him. But he wanted to say something that wouldn’t make the air around them more uncomfortable.

“I… Maybe I’ll write a book, a story book or something.”, Bilbo said and wore a faint smile, half joking with his answer.

“A story book?”

“Yeah, you know… It would tell about a burglar who does not know anything about burgling, but still ends up helping a group of tough guys to get back their treasures, or something like that… It would also be a story about a man who didn’t realized how lonely he really had been before he met all those amazing guys and made friends with them.”, Bilbo added that last sentence only just to praise Thorin’s company, but he didn’t realized that he had actually spoke the truth; he really had never know how lonely he really had been, living alone only waiting for the holidays when Frodo would come to see him. 

“Sounds like an interesting story.”, Thorin commented, making Bilbo to chuckle a bit. 

“How would it end?”, Thorin asked, and Bilbo felt a little nervous again, still not daring to look at Thorin.

“I’m not sure… Maybe he just does his job happily and returns back to his home being one story richer.”

“But wouldn’t he then be lonely again?”, Thorin pointed out, and Bilbo kept quiet for a while.

“Maybe…”, he finally spoke quietly.

“So why doesn’t he stay with those guys?”

Again, Bilbo went silent.

“He wouldn’t want to be a bother… It’s better for them all if he leaves…”, he sighed, wearing a sad smile on his lips.

“But then the story wouldn’t have a happy ending, and every good story deserves a happy ending.”, Thorin stated, moving his plate and teacup a little so he could lean a bit closer to Bilbo over the table.

“Umh… Maybe he will eventually have his happy ending, who knows…”, Bilbo tried to be positive, but Thorin didn’t settle with that answer.

“Then what about the man whose heart that burglar stole? He would never be happy without him by his side; there would be no happy ending for him.”

Bilbo’s body flinched. He slowly lifted his gaze from the table, looking Thorin in the eyes and saw how serious the man across him really was, blue eyes almost piercing him. Bilbo gulped before he carefully asked with a tiny voice:

“Did I… Did I really steal your heart..?”

Thorin didn’t answer. He just kept his eyes on Bilbo’s, giving to the smaller man some time to figure things out by himself.

“You… You chose me over the Arkenstone..?”, Bilbo confirmed, gaining a small nod from Thorin.

“Then what about you? How do you feel about me?”, Thorin asked, being actually really nervous but managed not to show any of it to Bilbo.

There was a palpable tension in the air when Bilbo tried to get his thoughts together, keeping silent for this whole time.

“You… You remember when I said that I think about you..? When I asked you why I always find myself thinking of you?”, Bilbo’s voice was really small, eyes gazing shyly at Thorin who nodded again.

“I… I think that I have always known why I think of you… R-right after that… f-first kiss at least…”, Bilbo admitted, knowing exactly, having always known how he felt but was being too stubborn to even admit that to himself. He had thought that maybe that feeling would die away if he just leaves from Thorin’s side, but whenever he saw those blue eyes watching him he knew that he couldn’t kill it, that bittersweet feeling. He didn’t want to.

Thorin kept looking at Bilbo as he stood up and walked around the table to stand next to him. Bilbo lifted his gaze, blinking rapidly as he tried to look Thorin in to the eyes. 

“Do you mean that you love me?”, Thorin asked bluntly, but still with a soft and quiet voice, bending down a little so his face was closer to Bilbo’s.

Bilbo was still sitting on the chair, but he felt how his knees were going weak. His hands were shaking just a little and his voice was so very thin as he slowly nodded:

“…Yes…”

Thorin let out a sigh of relief and cupped Bilbo’s face with his hands. Then he slowly brought his face closer and kissed Bilbo, very gently and lovingly. And this time there was no phone calls to interrupt them, ruining their sweet moment. When their long and caring kiss ended Thorin gently tugged Bilbo to stand up and hugged him tightly.

“I’m sorry… For all the things I said and did to you…”, Thorin whispered as he held Bilbo tight against his chest.

“I’m not mad at you or anything… So you shouldn’t be mad at yourself either.”, Bilbo answered as his fingers gently stroked Thorin’s back.

Thorin released Bilbo from his arms only so much that he could look Bilbo in the eyes, seeing so much love and honesty in them. And before he had a chance to say anything Bilbo made his heart burst with his next words:

“I… I really do love you. I was just scared of that intense feeling… And I guess that I still am, but I don’t want to run away from it anymore.”, Bilbo’s voice wasn’t as steady as he himself had wanted it to be, but Thorin’s mind had stopped listening to him right after the first sentence. Thorin leaned closer again and kissed Bilbo, this time passionately, making Bilbo moan so that he could slip his tongue in other’s mouth. 

Standing was becoming hard for Bilbo. His knees were shaking and his hands were tugging Thorin’s shirt, preventing himself from collapsing. But with a fast and gentle move Thorin lifted Bilbo to sit down on the table, kissing him for the whole time. 

“I love you.”, Thorin breath out between the kisses he placed on Bilbo’s mouth. 

“I should have said it sooner, much sooner…”, he continued, kissing the corner of Bilbo’s mouth, his cheeks and chin. 

Bilbo let out a little whimpering sound as Thorin’s kissing lips moved downwards on his neck, Thorin’s fingers twiddling open Bilbo’s collar. 

Bilbo was very nervous, but found himself enjoying Thorin’s gentle touches and slow movements. Like that time when they were locked in that pantry, Thorin now also kissed gently the little scar on Bilbo’s shoulder, sucking a bit the flesh around it.

 

But then he suddenly stopped.

 

“Hmm?”, Bilbo slowly opened his eyes when he felt how Thorin moved further away from his body.

“Are you sure you want to have me so close to you..?”, Thorin asked, looking Bilbo with a concern.

“I… Why wouldn’t I..?”, Bilbo truly didn’t get why Thorin hesitated. Then Thorin pointed the little red marks Bilbo had over his chest, and soon Bilbo understood what the other meant.

“I said I’m not mad at you from anything.”, Bilbo repeated, reaching his hand to tug Thorin closer.

“I know but… You know, I’m not too sure that I can keep being gentle with you if we go any further… I’ll lose control and then I might end up hurting you again.”

Bilbo stared at Thorin for a while, until he slowly tugged the man even closer and kissed him awkwardly on the lips, not really knowing how to take the lead in these kinds of things.

“I… I don’t mind if you’re rough. I mean, I’m not so fragile as you seem to think. You have seen that I can take much, even more than I myself had thought..! I doubt that you could traumatize me or anything, but I hope you understand that I’m… Uhm… I’m just nervous, okay…?”, Bilbo was blushing and tried to hide his face by rubbing his fingers against his forehead, turning his head to his right.

The look on Thorin’s face was surprised, the meaning of Bilbo’s words slowly hitting on him. 

“You mean… That you would let me have you? That you’re ready for that?”, he confirmed with a whispering voice.

“Yes… But, umm… Maybe not here, in the kitchen I mean…”, Bilbo looked around them, thinking that it wasn’t even proper to sit down on the table where they usually made the dinner…

Thorin also started to look around, having to agree that the kitchen might not be the most romantic or the best place anyway for these things. Although he wouldn’t have anything against the idea of taking Bilbo on this table, giving the shorter man so much pleasure that he would blush every time for that memory when making dinner. But Thorin knew that even if everyone else were sleeping now, they could wake up and get something to eat, and their moment would be ruined… But damn! Bilbo looked much more delicious than any food that had ever been made on that table! It was so very tempting not to eat him up right there, so Thorin grabbed Bilbo from the arm, placed a quick kiss on his lips and said.

“To my bedroom. Please. Now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! No, even if the title says so, this is not the final chapter of this fic! There is going to be at least two more, and I'm gonna finish this before the new year!   
> And I want you all to know that my new lovely beta-reader WinterKissed has corrected the chapters 8 - 10, and I just updated them here! She did absolutely great job with them! 
> 
> And thank you all for comments, kudos, bookmarks and views!


	44. This one adventure

Bilbo had never been in Thorin’s bedroom, but he knew exactly where it was; right next to the said man’s office, having the big wooden door that was always kept closed. But when Thorn now opened that door Bilbo didn’t had much, or should I say any time to admire the plain, mostly blue and grey colored decoration the room had, when Thorin pushed the door close, locking it and caught Bilbo in his arms, kissing the smaller man with passion. Bilbo tried to mimic Thorin’s movements, but soon surrendered and let Thorin take the lead completely. And before he had noticed it, Thorin had walked them next to the bed, and he stopped kissing Bilbo just for so long that he had time to lay the smaller man on the mattress. Then he climbed on the bed too, covering Bilbo’s body with his own, pressing their mouths together again.

“Th… Mmh… Thorin…”, Bilbo moaned between the kisses.

“Yes…?”

Bilbo couldn’t answer right away because Thorin moved to place sweet little kiss marks on his collarbone, making Bilbo gasp.

“Just… C-could you w-wait a little..?”

Thorin pushed himself up and looked Bilbo with a concern, trying to hide his own disappointment; so, he really had ruined his chances with Bilbo with these things after all…

But then Bilbo too pushed himself up and leaned against Thorin’s chest, trying to kiss him with the same passion as Thorin had kissed Bilbo some minutes ago. 

That surprised Thorin completely.

“I thought that you didn’t want this after all…”, Thorin said with a little smile as their passionate, but still a little awkward kiss ended.

“What..? No, I just… Uhm, I just don’t want to lie here… I wanna do something too.”, Bilbo blinked his eyes and stuttered a little when he tried to find the right words to express himself. 

Thorin’s face enlightened. He grabbed Bilbo from the waist and tugged him closer.

“What do you want to do then?”, Thorin asked and nibbled gently Bilbo’s earlobe. 

“Uhm… What do you… W-would like me t-to do..?”

Damn how Bilbo hated his sensitive ears..! Speaking with steady voice was impossible now..!

“Anything. We can take this slow if that’s what you want.”

Not really knowing what he should do, Bilbo started to fumble open Thorin’s shirt buttons, shyly admiring Thorin’s strong body.

Thorin too undressed Bilbo from his shirt and placed light kisses on his lover’s chest. Then he slowly pushed Bilbo to lie down on the bed again, continuing leaving those little kiss marks.

At first Bilbo just enjoyed the feeling of Thorin’s lips on his bare chest, but soon he noticed what his current position was, and that he did not like.

“Thorin..! Why am I pinned down again..?!”, Bilbo pushed Thorin away and sat up before he continued:

“Didn’t I just tell you that I want to… Do something too?”

“You weren’t doing much so I thought that you changed your mind.”, Thorin smirked and was just about to lay Bilbo down again, but this time Bilbo protested.

“Y-you said that we could take this slow? I, I haven’t done things like these… Well, too often, I need time to think, okay?”

A smug grin widened on Thorin’s lips as he drew his own conclusion from Bilbo’s words.

“So, have you done this before..?”

Bilbo’s face flushed bright red by Thorin’s question. He bumbled some nonsense and from middle of it Thorin heard only some short sentences.

“Well once… I was sixteen… She asked me to come with her... I really didn’t know how, but… Well, she slapped me… That’s umm… It was… Embarrassing, really…”, Bilbo sighed as he was telling about his only sex-experience, which he had as a teenager in one of his friend’s party with this older girl. Well, being so nervous and inexperienced Bilbo totally blew his chances with that young lady… But because he never really had any serious relationship with anyone or dated much, he never had his second try. Until now, of course.

“No, I mean have you done this with a man before?”, Thorin chuckled a little after hearing Bilbo’s story. 

“What, no..!”, Bilbo gasped.

“I never thought that I would be… Well, you know… Actually, I thought that I wouldn’t be doing these kinds of things with anyone, I never thought that I would ever need or want to…”

And just when Thorin had thought that Bilbo couldn’t be any cuter..! Even Bilbo’s ears were all red after his confession..!

“But you need and want this right now, don’t you?”, Thorin pecked a little kiss on his lover’s lips, feeling how Bilbo awkwardly nodded his head.

“What about you..? Have you ever… Done this with a man..?”

Damn, Thorin didn’t mean to laugh… 

“What, what is so funny..?!”, Bilbo’s voice was almost a little angry, and the frown on his face made him look even more adorable in Thorin’s eyes.

“I’m sorry… Hmmh, why do you wanna know that?”, Thorin asked as he tried to steady his voice.

“Well… Uhm, you asked that from me, I have every right to ask it from you too..!” 

Thorin smiled a bit gentler as he placed few kisses on Bilbo’s neck and shoulder, answering only when he noticed that Bilbo wouldn’t relax before hearing it.

“Let’s just say that I used to do all kinds of things with all kinds of people to get some informations in the past… But I never did this out of love.”, he finally confessed. 

Bilbo really didn’t know what to say to that. He almost commented something like “Oh, how sad”, but kept his mouth shut. After all, Thorin was the kind of a man who hated pity.

“But let’s not talk about others now. Let’s continue.”, Thorin suggested, but didn’t had time to fumble open the button on Bilbo’s trousers when the shorter man pushed himself to sit up again.

“Yes we will, but like I said, I… I want to do things too!”

When Thorin looked in Bilbo’s determined eyes, he knew that Bilbo wasn’t going to give up until he had had his little hands and sweet lips all over Thorin’s body. And that idea only made Thorin more excited. 

“Well, if you really want to do something, then…”

Thorin stood up and pulled Bilbo out from the bed too. Then he himself sat on the edge of the bed, slowly lowering Bilbo between his legs. Bilbo’s body flinched a bit when he realized what Thorin wanted him to do, but the dark haired man wasn’t going to rush him.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”, Thorin said with a soft voice, worrying that he had been too blunt when asking Bilbo to do something like this. 

Sure Bilbo hesitated a bit first; after all, he hadn’t done anything like this before, never touching other man like that. But determinedly he reached his hands to unzip Thorin’s trousers, freeing the man’s hard member.

Bilbo swallowed before he closed his eyes and kissed the flesh, slowly sticking his tongue out. Thorin’s hand petted Bilbo’s brown soft curls, gently squeezing time to time, urging Bilbo to do more. So after he had gathered some more courage, Bilbo opened his mouth, tasting properly the salty flesh. 

Oh Thorin had not expected Bilbo to be so bold..! He thought that his little lover would just stroke him, awkwardly tasting him with the tip of his tongue. Well, Bilbo wasn’t experienced, so his movements were a little awkward and even clumsy, chocking a bit time to time and forgot to watch his teeth. But unlike than with the gun and shooting, Bilbo seemed to be somewhat naturally talented in this. And so Thorin didn’t mind at all when Bilbo kept taking him deeper in his mouth, not at all…

But soon it became hard for Thorin not just to thrust himself in Bilbo’s mouth and keep his hands for not pulling those sweet caramel curls. For a moment he was weighting should he just give in his desires right now or make Bilbo stop so they could go all the way like Thorin had first planned… Well he chose the last opinion, but believe me that it wasn’t an easy choice. 

“That’s… Uh, enough now…”, Thorin said with a deep an hoarse voice as he slowly pushed Bilbo’s head away from him.

“But… You didn’t… Yet…”, Bilbo spoke, leaving his sentences unfinished because of the embarrassment and because his lips and palate felt tired. 

“I planned to do it later.”, Thorin said with a low chuckle as he helped Bilbo back on his feet and pinned the shorter man on the bed again, this time not caring at all about Bilbo’s complains. Well there was not much complaining this time, Bilbo only gasped and wriggled a little when Thorin undressed him from his trousers and palmed Bilbo’s erection. Thorin made sure to be gentle this time even when his movements were fast. He could not help but smile when he realized how hard Bilbo was trying to suppress his moans by pressing his hand on his mouth, closing his eyes tightly. 

“This room is very well soundproofed, no need to hold back.”, Thorin said as he removed Bilbo’s hand from his mouth and kissed his palm, gently licking and biting the fingers.

“Ah..!”, Bilbo moaned as Thorin’s hand started to work faster. Due the lack of the textiles Bilbo’s voice almost echoed in the room, which made him really suspect the room’s soundproofing…

“I wanna hear you.”, Thorin encouraged his lover as he kept kissing Bilbo’s arm, loving how Bilbo’s body trembled under him. 

Thorin didn’t need to continue long before he knew that Bilbo was close to his release. So to the shorter man’s surprise he stopped moving his hand and reluctantly left his side when he went to search something from the wardrobe. 

“I’m sure they’re right here…”, Thorin muttered as he searched those things from his jacket’s pocket. Bilbo was all confused, part of him knowing what Thorin must be looking for, but he really wasn’t comprehending it. After all, Bilbo was too busy when he tried to steady his breathing, embarrassed by all the moans he had let out just minutes ago…

But Thorin was going to make Bilbo moan some more soon. He had found what he had been looking for and returned to the bed, locking his eyes with Bilbo’s.

“I might not be able to stop later if we continue this.”

“I… I think I said that I don’t mind… If you’re rough…”

Again Bilbo’s words made Thorin laugh a little, he just couldn’t help it.

“Your voice is trembling. Are you absolutely sure?”, Thorin tried to restrain himself, but his lips just automatically found their way to kiss Bilbo’s hairless soft chest as he waited him to answer.

“Uh… I, I said I’m just nervous…”

That wasn’t the best encouragement, but Thorin bought it only because Bilbo whimpered it with such a sweet and aroused voice. 

“Then… Just try to relax and enjoy.”, Thorin smiled as he started to coat his fingers with the lube he had went to search. 

Bilbo’s fingers clinched to take a grip from the mattress as he felt how Thorin started to push the first finger in. 

“I can do this…”, Bilbo kept repeating in his head, but he wasn’t ready for the uncomfortable feeling to turn into a pain so suddenly.

“Uh… T-Thorin wait..!”, Bilbo tried to get up and wiggled his arms, put Thorin slowly pushed him to lay down.

“Calm down… You need to relax more.”, Thorin said and kissed the corner of Bilbo’s mouth. 

“O-okay…”

Thorin smiled, and if Bilbo would have been able to look at his lovers face through his own embarrassment, he would have seen that behind that smile a guilty was showing in Thorin’s eyes. Maybe his previous actions had made Bilbo so tense before they actually had started to do much…

But eventually Bilbo felt that he could bear the pain, and before he noticed it he had actually moaned again, almost shocked when he heard his own voice.

“You’re okay?”, Thorin asked as Bilbo flinched when the second finger was added in.

“Y-you know… D-don’t keep asking am I okay…! I’m thirty two years old man..!”, Bilbo huffed, surprising Thorin that he got enough energy to get even a little mad.

“Age or gender doesn’t matter if you’re in pain.”, Thorin answered, smiling as that cute brown appeared on Bilbo’s face again.

“So, does it hurt?”, he repeated, moving his fingers a little.

“A little, but- Ah!”, Bilbo gasped suddenly. He quickly placed his palm against his mouth, surprising himself with his own sudden moan.

“So, pain or pleasure, which one is it?”, Thorin smirked, moving his fingers again in order to hear another sweet moan, which Bilbo was unable to suppress.

“Ah..! Thorin please..!”

Wasn’t that a real turn on? To hear Bilbo pleading Thorin’s name, begging him, seeing his smaller body gasping and wriggling under him? Yes, definitely. Thorin loved to be the one in control, making others to bend under his will. But this time he also enjoyed knowing that he could also make Bilbo to love this all, make him scream for more Thorin’s dominance. And he really intended to make Bilbo scream for more..!

The third finger brought a bit back that pain Bilbo had felt before, but Thorin’s soothing words and gentle strokes over his body made Bilbo to forget it fast. Time to time he felt the strong waves of pleasure going through his body, hating it when he couldn’t help but moan loudly as they did. 

Thorin enjoyed wholeheartedly when he heard Bilbo’s moans and whines, and surprised as Bilbo’s hands tried to reach to touch Thorin, groping lightly his chest and arms. Oh, this little man was still so persistent, not allowing himself to give in the pleasure but still wanted to keep touching Thorin with those tempting hands..! And of course Thorin wouldn’t mind at all, but this time he needed to pin Bilbo’s hands back on the mattress on his sides; Thorin was already having hard time as he tried to go slow and gentle without having Bilbo’s soft fingers caressing his body..! Thankfully he didn’t need to prepare Bilbo much more. It seemed that by now the smaller man was finally feeling more pleasure than pain and had relaxed enough so Thorin could twiddle his fingers a little inside him without hurting Bilbo. 

“Finally..”, Thorin breath out and pulled his fingers out form Bilbo’s body. Bilbo flinched at that, but Thorin didn’t give much time for him to collect his thoughts as he had already prepared himself for the main thing.

“Uah, T-Thorin, this is..!”, Bilbo exclaimed as Thorin lifted his short legs to rest on his wide shoulders, lifting Bilbo a little bit up from the waist for getting a better access.

“E-embarrassing… “, Bilbo finished his sentence and gulped loudly. 

“I wanna see your face drown in pleasure when I bury myself in to you.”, Thorin murmured, not adding that he also wanted to see clearly if Bilbo would feel any pain during their moment.

“Please, relax now.”, were the last words Bilbo heard before Thorin pushed a few inches in to his smaller body.

And it hurt.

“I… Thorin I…!”, Bilbo stammered, and Thorin could hear a slight panic in his voice. So again Thorin restrained himself and focused to make Bilbo relax.

“It will get better, I promise.”, Thorin said and stroked soothingly Bilbo’s sides and chest. It took all of Thorin’s willpower just not to ram himself in Bilbo’s tight body and have his way with him, but the salty tears that were flooding from Bilbo’s eyes were more than enough for him to keep still before his lover was ready for more.

Bilbo lifted his hands up again, took a grip from Thorin’s shoulders and said in a breathy voice:

“Just… Go on.”

It took some time, but eventually Thorin heard again how Bilbo moaned in pleasure as the taller man had thrust himself fully inside his smaller lover. Bilbo needed some time to get used to the new feeling, an odd pressure inside of him. Thin trail of tears was still flooding from his eyes, and if Bilbo himself would have been aware of that he would have been twice more embarrassed than he already was; to cry over something like this in his age…

Thorin thought that Bilbo might need a little bit more time till he would be allowed to move, but Bilbo surprised him again by tightening his grip on the man’s shoulders, pulling himself up a bit and at the same time pulling Thorin a bit down as he kissed him awkwardly.

“Please… Move.”

Thorin didn’t need to hear that twice, even though he would have loved to hear Bilbo begging him more. But he still got to hear that begging as he set the fast pace, making sure that he would hit just the right spot inside of his lover. And whenever he hit those spots, Bilbo almost screamed, forgetting his worries about room’s soundproofing. Every now and then Thorin slowed down so he could lean forward and kiss Bilbo passionately, murmuring how he loved him. Bilbo would have liked to pledge his love too, but as the pleasure took over him he could only let out those sweet little whimpering sounds.

“Ah..! T-Thorin..! Hm..!”

“Yes, you’re doing great.”, Thorin praised him, loving how it seemed like the only word what Bilbo could remember was Thorin’s name, and to hear him say it between the moans drove Thorin almost crazy..! He pulled himself almost all the way out from Bilbo’s body, only to slam himself back instantly. He repeated that movement few times as it made Bilbo to whimper and moan twice more loudly than before, just like Thorin had planned.

But soon neither of them could hold back anymore, and Thorin bend to kiss his lover as they both came. While Bilbo was still trembling and panting under him, Thorin started to place kisses all over Bilbo’s head, licking off the tears and burying his nose in Bilbo’s damp curls. 

“How are you feeling..?”, Thorin asked carefully, inhaling Bilbo’s sweet scent. And when he pulled back to look Bilbo’s face, he was amazed how beautiful Bilbo’s eyes were as they open and closed lazily, looked Thorin with gratified gaze.

“You weren’t so rough… Even when I gave you the permission to be.”, Bilbo smiled, being actually thankful that Thorin had partly forgotten Bilbo’s words and had been very gentle with him after all. 

“You’re amazing…”, Thorin smiled back and laid down next to Bilbo, taking the smaller man in his arms and pulled him close to his chest. 

How perfect it would have been to fall asleep like that..! Well, of course taking a shower would have been much wiser, but Bilbo felt how his whole body felt heavy and tired, and judging how slowly and lightly Thorin’s fingers stroked his back the taller man must have been ready to sleep too.

 

But then they heard how something banged against the door.

 

Bilbo flinched at the sudden noise, and Thorin’s body automatically took a defensive posture. They both kept silent as they started to hear mumbled voices from the corridor. Thorin stood up, covered his body by wrapping a towel from the chair over his waist and walked towards the door. He waited for some seconds, just enough time for Bilbo to slip under the blanket till he opened the door with a fast move. 

A group of more or less bearded men stumbled inside the room, tripping and falling on each other. 

“What the hell are you all doing here?!”, Thorin demanded to know as his subordinates and family members struggled to stand.

“We just came here, only seconds ago! We swear!”, Fili hurried to explain, gaining nods and agreements from others.

“Yeah, we were worried when we didn’t find Bilbo anywhere, so we came to look for him..!”, Bofur continued as he helped his brother up from the floor.

“And as we didn’t find you either, we came here and then…”, Dori coughed, clearly embarrassed that he had let himself to take a part in this childish act.

Thorin’s eyes wandered in his men in disbelief. He would have waited something like this from his nephews, but all the others were here too, everyone being equally guilty. Even Dwalin, his best friend stood there next his always so innocent boyfriend Ori, and Gloin had apparently also come back just to eavesdrop his boss and his boss’s burglar.

“Why, why you were looking for me?”, Bilbo asked, tugging the blanket more up.

They all looked at each other, not really knowing who should start the explaining.

“We… We thought that you had already left us or about to leave, so… We wanted to stop you.”, Kili said, making everyone sad by speaking about Bilbo’s leave. 

Thorin’s eyes turned to look at Bilbo, remembering that the man hasn’t said anything about staying. So now thirteen pair of sad and waiting eyes were staring at Bilbo, who had thought that he really didn’t need to answer that question anymore.

 

“What..? Do you really think that I would be able to leave now? After everything we have said and done?”, Bilbo said to everyone, but looked only Thorin in the eyes. 

 

At first they all just blinked their eyes, surprised how serious and steady Bilbo’s voice was, like it had been oblivious that he would stay. And this time it wasn’t just about for him being here only for a one job, he would stay here… They didn’t know, forever they hoped!

Fili and Kili started to cheer, and in a blink of an eye they had already jumped on the bed, covering Bilbo in hugs and told him how happy they were.

“That’s great..! We wouldn’t have survived here without you!”, Kili said as he hugged Bilbo with his good arm, grinning and laughing together with his brother.

Thorin’s eyes darkened a bit; he didn’t like the idea that others were touching his lover right after they had have sex, even if they were his own nephews. Dwalin patted his friend on the shoulder, understanding him as he himself had cute and huggable lover too. 

But eventually everyone had gathered around the bed, waiting for their turns to hug Bilbo and cheer with him. 

“Wait, there is one condition..!”, Bilbo shouted, and all that merry laughing stopped instantly.

“The windows. I can’t live in a house which doesn’t have a proper view..! You know that I need a real sunlight to shine through my window into my room so I know is it a day or a night..!”, Bilbo huffed, making everyone relieved by hearing how simple his request was.

“Yes of course..! We will built the whole house again from the glass if that’s what makes you to stay here forever!”, Kili and Fili laughed with others again.

“Uh, I, I just want to go back to my house for the holidays, you know! I want to spent Christmas and summer with my nephew!”, Bilbo exclaimed, gaining puppy eyes from the three youngest boys.

“Okay, there is plenty of room for you all too. My house is big even if it’s not this large.”, He sighed, actually feeling happy how popular he suddenly was. 

And by saying that he gained another round of cheers and hugs, and would have most likely drowned in them if Thorin hadn’t made his way back to the bed and wrapped Bilbo tightly in his arms.

“Thank you.”, he whispered in Bilbo’s ear, who felt slightly embarrassed but happy being in Thorin’s arms again.

“You know, I probably would have had to invite you all for Christmas anyway. Frodo would never believe me when I’ll tell him about this one adventure of mine! It’s so incredible that I can hardly believe that I went through it by myself either!”, Bilbo laughed, looking everyone with a hearty smile.

They all chuckled with him, until Ori’s high technologized phone (at least it looked like a phone to Bilbo, he didn’t know much about the technology) let out a peeping sound, making everyone go silent.

As Ori watched his phone, reading the message he had just received, his eyes widened, but not because of the shock, he just seemed surprised. Then he quickly shoved his phone in to Thorin’s hand, who also seemed surprised, letting Dwalin read that message next, who handed the phone over to Balin and so on. Everyone were surprised, but as the message also brought an excited smiles on their lips, Bilbo deduced that it couldn’t be anything too serious. 

“Well…”, Thorin broke the silent, making Bilbo to lift his gaze up to watch how his lover smiled, taking the phone from Bifur’s hands and gave it finally to Bilbo.

“Would you like to have two incredible adventures to tell for him in Christmas?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there will be one chapter more! And sorry if I can't write good fanservice, writing it is still very new to me.... And a bit awkward too, but yeah, hope you like it..! And I'm like super grateful for your comments, kudos, bookmarks and views! Thank you very much, it means lot for me to know that people read this fic!


	45. He is happy

“You look tired.”, Frodo stated as he gently stroked his boyfriend’s hair.

 

“Our coach made us work hard today.”, Aragorn sighed, resting his head on younger boy’s lap.

 

“I guess that you would want to sleep then.”

 

“Sleep when I’m finally alone with you..? Never!”, Aragorn chuckled and lift his head so he could kiss Frodo’s lips. Slowly he sat up, pulling his younger lover in a deeper kiss, enjoying when Frodo tugged gently his brown locks. 

 

Then, somebody knocked on the door.

  

Immediately they pulled away and Frodo turned his big blue eyes to stare at the door of Aragorn’s room as the calm knocking continued.

 

“You said that your roommate would be away this weekend..?”, he confirmed.

 

“It can’t be Legolas. He was going on a date with mister Elrond, he wouldn’t miss that…”, Aragorn mumbled and went to open the door.

 

“Good afternoon, Aragorn..!”, a grey haired old man greeted him with a small bow.

 

“Gandalf, you sure like to make surprise visits, don’t you?”, Aragorn sighed. He wasn’t in a mood of talking with this oldster now, not when his sweet little Frodo was sitting on his bed, ready to be devoured. 

 

“Don’t worry, I came here to talk with Frodo, which must be you, hello there..! I was told that I would find you here.”, Gandalf waved to the short boy whose eyes widened in confusion.

 

“Me..? But, I don’t think that I know you sir…”, Frodo said quietly, slowly walking towards the tall old man.

 

“We haven’t, but you look a lot like your uncle, who is a dear friend of mine.”, Gandalf smiled, bending himself so he could see Frodo’s face closer.

 

“Uncle Bilbo..? I’m sorry, I don’t remember that he ever mentioned you…”

 

“Well, I’m pretty new friend of his. Anyway, your uncle asked me to give this to you, and asked me to keep an eye on you till the Christmas.”, Gandalf answered and gave a neatly folded letter to Frodo.

 

“What..? Keep an eye on me…? Is uncle alright?! What this means?!”, Frodo almost panicked, but calmed immediately as Aragorn pressed his hand on smaller boy’s shoulder and Gandalf continued.

 

“Don’t worry, he is alright, better than just alright actually. Read the letter and you’ll be more wiser.”, he smiled, watching the change of emotions on Frodo’s face as he read the letter.

 

 

_Dear Frodo_

_I’m sorry that I couldn’t call you and explain things on the phone. But I think that it’s better like this, I’m better at expressing myself with written words than with spoken ones, like you know. And I’m sure that if I was to say these things to you, I would have stuttered and who knows, maybe even cried. But don’t you worry now, I’m fine! Actually, I’m more than just fine! Things have happened, bad and good things, and those good things changed me pretty much. Or, maybe they didn’t change me, they just awaked some hidden parts inside of me._

_But I own you some explanations. Since I last saw you, I have lived with thirteen men, very extraordinary men if I shall say so. With those men I went through something that made me want to see the world some more, go and have more adventures. Don’t worry, I’m still the same uncle Bilbo you have always known; I love just sitting on the sofa, drinking tea and take care of my small garden. But I realized that I would enjoy much more of doing those things when I’m older, much older and have lots of stories to tell about my own adventures. And thanks to those men, especially for one of them, I’m now living those stories, surely going to live through many more exciting adventures than the one I already had and the one I’m having right now. But like I said, I’m still your uncle, and I’m positive that all the adventuring can wait and put on a hold when the Christmas comes..! So don’t worry, when you come home for Christmas I’ll be there, waiting for you with my stories. You will learn everything by then. In the meanwhile I’m afraid that I won’t be able to contact you, since things can get pretty messy here… But like I said, don’t worry! I’m more than safe with these men, and when you meet them in Christmas, you will understand the reason why._

_I would like to explain you things more right now, but I’m afraid that I started to write this letter a little bit too late, and my companions are already getting impatient. But remember, I love you, you are very, very dear to me, so do your best in school and remember to rest enough! And I wish that things are going fine with Aragorn too. Yes, don’t you think that I didn’t notice the way you spoke about him. But I only wish you to be happy. And even though I know how independent you already are, I still asked Gandalf, my friend to look after you. He can be a little irritating old man sometimes, but in the end he means well. And without him I would have never met all these great people..! So please bear with him while I’m gone, it would make me feel a bit easier to know that he is near you._

_I love you, and I’ll see you in Christmas!_

_Love_

_Uncle Bilbo_

Frodo was still a little confused, and he had hard time to read the last lines of Bilbo’s letter; his uncle’s writing went pretty messy as he was forced to write fast. But in his heart Frodo felt that Bilbo was alright, safe and sound with the ones he loves. And he would be happy to tell his uncle that he too was happy with Aragorn. Frodo had been a bit worried about his uncle when Aragorn asked him to move in with him as the summer comes. He had been afraid that Bilbo would feel lonely, but now when he knew that his uncle had lots of great friends around him, he wouldn’t be so lonely if Frodo couldn’t be near him for the whole summer, or he wouldn’t feel so left out if Aragorn visits them time to time. 

 

“He is happy, isn’t he?”, Frodo asked, but didn’t actually need an answer. Gandalf smiled at him, reassuring him that Bilbo indeed was happy, and thought how right now the said man was adventuring somewhere in the strange forest, tripping over on branches and being slightly embarrassed as his strong lover catches him before falling on the ground. Thorin takes his time to brush gently Bilbo’s face, picking some leaves out from his curly hair. 

 

Little things really do make life great, Thorin thinks as he smiles to the man he loves from the bottom of his heart.

 

After all, Bilbo really is a quite incredible, brave little burglar.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, this is the end..! Feel kinda empty, yeah... Maybe there is gonna be a sequel, but maybe not anytime too soon, but I will surely write more fics in future! 
> 
> So... At first big thanks to Yhoretta, who beta-read the first seven chapters and bog thanks to WinterKisses too who is currently beta-reading this fic, so far she had gone through the chapters 8-10! Thank you both so much! Fan fics are just for fun, so I'm very happy that thre is people who are kind enough to give their time to help others even in this kind of just-for-fun -things in this busy world!   
> And Thank you all for your comments! They really mean much to me, and it is always fun to know what people think about my work! And thank you all for giving kudos, I'm glad to know that so many people liked this! And thank you all for bookmarks, glad you find this interesting enough for bookmarking this! And thank you all who have read this! 
> 
> And btw, this was my first fan fic ever and also the first time I wrote anything longer than 1000 words in english (I'm not a native speaker!), so I hope to be a better writer in future :-)


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